


A world made of faith, and trust, and pixie dust.

by PuckB



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Peter Pan Fusion, Crossover, Epilogue is NC-17, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Peter Pan References, Reverse Big Bang Challenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-01
Updated: 2013-02-26
Packaged: 2017-12-03 15:29:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 39,857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/699752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PuckB/pseuds/PuckB
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When a strange boy break into his room flying, accompanied by a fairy and claiming to be looking for his shadow, Arthur is certain that he is dreaming. When the boy insist to prove him that he's real, Arthur accept without knowing that it will take him to a magical world where everything he knew is questioned,  where ghosts of the past are found, new friendships are born, and love and trust grow even in the coldest hearts.</p><p>A Peter Pan AU where Merlin is Peter and Arthur is Wendy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 1.

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mushroomtale](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mushroomtale/gifts).



> This has been written for the Merlin reverse big bang. It's my first time writing for a big bang, and it's was an amazing experience!  
> It's for this absolutely gorgeous art by Mushroomtale (that you can see [here](http://sta.sh/01f621rsvhow)!)  
> I've never written a story this long and in such a short time, and I wouldn't have made it without the help and support of many people.  
> All the thanks and awards go to [Lunchee](http://lunchee.dreamwidth.org/) and [ArchaeologistD](http://archaeologist-d.livejournal.com/) for the emergency beta work. You've both been so helpful and I couldn't post this story today without you! Thanks to Lux for being the best cheerleader ever and to Clair of his precious advices. And finally, thanks to Mushroomtale for being so enthusiastic about this story, and for your beautiful art!
> 
> This story is mainly inspired by the Disney Movie "Peter Pan", but I also googled a lot and took all the information I thought were interesting, so it's a bit of a mix. I also took many liberties to fit the story, like the age of the characters... I have never read the original books and plays, but I now know their wikipedia pages by heart!
> 
>  
> 
>   
> semi-spoiler in case you don't like pr0n : The nc-17 part in the epilogue can easily be skipped, it doesn't take anything off the story.  
> 

London, 1904.

 

The streets were quiet near the Pendragon mansion, like they always were at this time of the night, the time when all the parents got back from work and the children were ready to go to sleep. In most houses, parents are wishing their children good night, kissing them on the forehead before turning off the lights or sometimes, reading them bedtime stories.

There never were good night kisses or bedtime stories in the Pendragon household. If Uther Pendragon was back from work, it didn't mean that he had stopped working. The lights were on in his studies until late, the heavy wooden door closed so that no one would disturb him. Uther was a very steady and hard-working man, and so it wasn't surprising that he never noticed that there was another light on in the house at the same time.

 

“... And he threw the captain in the water, where a crocodile was waiting for him. The pirates screamed and plunged into the water to try to help their captain, but he was already swimming as fast as he could to get away from the beast. The crocodile licked his teeth while looking at the pirates, certainly thinking about the delicious meal it was going to have.”

Arthur giggled.

“That's disgusting, Morgana!”

“Shh, I'm not finished. Do you want to know how he saves the lost boys?”

Arthur nodded and sank further in his blankets.

“While the pirates were busy with the crocodile, he fled to the ship to search for the boys. Finally, he heard them calling for him. They were locked in a cabin. He tried to open the door, but the lock was really strong and it wasn't until he heard the pirates getting back on the ship that he managed to open it, after a great effort. Just then, the captain arrived behind him and yelled, 'Merlin!' And...”

The door of Arthur and Morgana's bedroom opened and they both jumped in surprise. Morgana closed the book and looked panicked, but it was just Gaius, their nanny-dog. She sighed in relief. Uther had never liked these kind of books and the children knew they would never hear the end of it if he found out that Morgana read “Merlin and the lost boys” to Arthur every night. It was Arthur's favourite book of course, not that he knew any other. It was already a miracle that Morgana had been able to keep this one book hidden, since any storybook had been banned from the house as soon as Arthur had started going to school. He knew how to read now, but he loved it when Morgana read to him, she really had a talent for it, doing all the voices and sometimes even standing up and _acting_ it. Arthur knew she loved doing it, too. And anyway, it had always been their private time, the only time of the day where they allowed themselves to be the children they were. Because, evidently, Uther Pendragon had a specific opinion of how his children should be and it didn't involve dreaming and playing and being innocent and foolish. Some things were fine, of course. Sports, for Arthur, and books too, but school ones, or sometimes classical literature if it was decent enough. But at 6 and 10, they liked, and needed, to be dreamy and foolish. So Merlin's magical adventures in Neverland was their time of freedom, and they wouldn't risk to lose it for anything in the world.

 

In that order, they were always extremely careful to turn the light off and pretend to sleep when Uther left his studies and went to sleep to his room at the end of the corridor. It was the same ritual every night. Around 11 at the latest, he would go to sleep, passing in front of the children's bedroom and opening the door slightly to verify that they were sleeping. He wouldn't say a word, just opening and closing the door, and as soon as he left, Morgana would get out of her bed and retrieve the book from its hiding place to finish the story.

It's not easy to be so young and be asked to be so mature. Arthur understands his father, or at least he tries to. He couldn't say that Uther didn't love him but... Uther was a distant man, even with his children, and he leads a strict, organized life. Arthur liked to think that the man hasn't always been the same, that when Ygraine was still alive, he was friendlier and warmer. Ygraine must have been nice. She looked nice in the pictures, always smiling, with light eyes and hair like Arthur. He wondered if they would have been friendly and warm, like Morgana’s, or cold and distant like Uther’s. He wondered what she would think of him, secretly reading children books with Morgana every night. On his moments of hope, he dreamt that she would actually read with him. That she would love Merlin's adventures as much as he did.

 

Gaius looked at the children with a sceptical face. How a dog could have a sceptical, it was a mystery, but somehow, Gaius managed it perfectly. He made a noise that could be a grump or whine of despair. Those children will never learn, will they? He walked toward them and took the corner of Morgana's skirt in his teeth before starting to drag her toward her bed. It was late and they should have been asleep hours ago, and he didn't have the patience to be nice. And anyway, after years of taking care of the children, he knew what to do in order to get listened to. Morgana could be even more stubborn than Arthur sometimes. The young girl followed him with reluctance, holding onto her book firmly.

“Gaius!” She complained. “The story was almost over! We just need a minute more!”

Arthur didn't say anything, but looked unhappy and made a lot of noise, moving in his bed. Morgana was now fighting Gaius forcefully, walking in the opposite direction of her bed with all her strength. Gaius was, of course, pulling her with determination.

“Arthur, help me!” The girl called. When Arthur didn't move, she added. “Don't you want to hear the end of the story?”

Now, Arthur looked conflicted.

“Morgana, maybe we should sleep now. It's late after all...” He said in his tiny voice.

“Traitor!” She yelled.

Then, as Arthur was slowly getting out of his bed, footsteps approached the room. They all froze.

Uther.

 

Gaius let out a long whine. Immediately, Morgana and Arthur jumped into their respective beds and tried to turn of the light but it was too late. The door opened, and Uther faced the most absurd scene he had ever found himself facing.

Arthur was laying on his bed, but his sheets were thrown on the side of the bed, and his eyes were wide open. Morgana was in the middle of getting on her bed, and Gaius was holding her skirt between his teeth. The three of them were looking at him with wide, terrified eyes.

“What...” The man started, before noticing the most important detail. “Morgana. What is that?” He said coldly, looking straight at the book she was still firmly holding against her chest. He took a step forward. At first, she didn't move, but as he took another step, she moved away, clinging to the book even more.

“No...nothing,” she whispered. Uther frowned.

“Morgana. Give it to me,” he said calmly. Arthur looked at him, then at Morgana. She turned her head and met his eyes. Never had he seen such a terrified expression on her face. And as Uther took another step forward, the young boy started realizing what was going to happen and let out a gasp of terror. This was bad, really, really bad.

“Morga--” Arthur started, but he was cut off by Uther. “Arthur, not a word!” The tone wasn't cold anymore, even if still controlled, it was angry, and it didn't meant _bad_ now, it meant _the worst_.

They had been so careful for so many years, had avoided Uther perfectly and were able to keep this moment for themselves, and they never let their guard down. Somehow, they had always known when Uther arrived, and they had always had the time to hide before he opened the door. They never, ever expected to be surprised like this, and it made their pain and terror even stronger.

“Give that book to me now.” Uther said again, his voice shaking with anger, but strangely low, and somehow it was scarier than if he had been shouting at them.

“Father I...”

“Arthur.” Uther cut his son mid sentence for the second time. “You don't have your word to say in this.”

Arthur closed his mouth and grabbed his sheets to tug them on himself. He could feel tears filling his eyes. He knew Uther wouldn't like him crying, but he was just a boy of 6 years, after all.

 

Gaius, who had dropped Morgana's skirt, walked toward him but was stopped mid-movement by Uther.

“Let him alone, dog. He needs to learn people won't be nice with him when he makes mistakes.” The man's eyes were still fixed on Morgana, who hadn't moved or said a word. He took another step, and when she made clear that she wouldn't hand him the book willingly, he grabbed it to take it from her. She tried to fight, but what were the chances of a little girl against a grown man? She didn't last more than a few seconds before Uther had the storybook in his hands and was looking at it with a raised eyebrow. Arthur knew Morgana wanted to scream, and cry, and fight, but she wouldn't let Uther see how vulnerable and hurt she was. Taking courage from her, Arthur wiped his tears away with the back of his hand and straightened on his bed. He was a Pendragon, he wouldn't show weakness, especially to his father.

“Merlin and... The lost... Boys.” Uther read carefully. He turned the book in every direction possible, examining it carefully, before putting it on the bedside table. He took a deep breath before saying:

“Morgana. I have made my decision. You are old enough now. Starting tomorrow night, you will have your own room, it is largely time.” Morgana gasped. “You have to stop this…childishness.” The word was said with such disdain it made Arthur shiver. “You've always been a difficult child, and I can accept that, but I won't accept that you share your foolishness with Arthur. He is to be the head of Pendragon Corporation one day, and he doesn't have time for these games!” His voice raised at the end of the sentence, and the anger was clearly audible now. Uther was shouting when he said, “To your bed! Now!” and Morgana obeyed mechanically, without meeting his eyes. She slipped under the covers and turned the light off before Uther could. She didn't attempt to take the book that was still near the lamp. She simply turned her back to Uther, burying her head into her pillow.

 

There was a moment of total silence before Uther talked again, apparently calmer.

“You will move your belongings to your new room first thing tomorrow.” He finally took the book and turned his back to his children. Before leaving, he called for Gaius.

“You're a good dog Gaius, but you're too sensitive.” Gaius, who looked ashamed and sad, was staring at the ground with concentration. When Uther walked toward the door, he followed him silently. But just as Uther was leaving the room and Arthur was starting to breathe normally again, the man's voice resonated again. It was its usual, cold and distant, but there was bitterness in it too.

“Arthur, I expected better from you.”

Arthur swallowed, and the door closed, leaving him in a silent and dark room.

After a moment, when he was finally sure that his voice wasn't going to break as soon as he opened his mouth, he tempted a shy “Morgana...” but when he heard a soft sob coming from the other bed, he knew there was nothing to say. 


	2. 2.

9 years later.

 

Arthur opened the door of Morgana's room carefully. The old wood creaked and a cloud of dust invaded the corridor. It wasn't surprising. No one ever came in this room anymore. It was like a silent rule, since Uther had moved from his old room, to avoid walking past Morgana's door. They used to not talk about Ygraine, and now they didn't talk about Morgana, either. Of course, Arthur wasn't supposed to go in that room. The anger Uther would get in if he knew... Arthur preferred not to think about it. He had been the victim of Uther's angers more times that he could remember since he's been in age to talk, but it only became worse after Morgana... He wouldn't say it. He couldn't. Sometimes he just needed to be reminded of her, though. The room hadn't changed. It had stayed the same since that first day she moved in it, all those years ago after Uther's big anger about the story book. She hadn't slept in it for a month, Arthur remembered. Each night, she crept in his room – her old one – and slept with him in his tiny bed. After a moment, they came to the realization that they couldn't continue like that, it was too suspicious and not comfortable at all anyway, and she started sleeping in her new room as expected. But it didn't stop her from creeping into the little boy's room every night to read him his favourite stories before sneaking back into her own room. They were more than extra careful then, and Uther never suspected anything. Their tradition never stopped until...

 

She wasn't dead.

He knew she wasn't. She was just... Gone.

Uther had reacted just as he had with Ygraine, though, closing himself more and forbidding even saying her name in his presence. Uther was mourning his daughter like he had been -and probably was still, but Arthur couldn't tell any more, and didn't care anyway - mourning his wife all those years ago, without realizing that it was his mourning that drew Morgana away from him, and that it was doing the same thing for Arthur. Only, contrary to the girl, Arthur hid it well, and never reacted in the same expressive, rebellious way that Morgana had. His own rebellion was quiet, silent. It was something as easy as sneaking in the room of his absent sister to read the storybook she used to read to him. It was easier, but no less powerful.

The book was how Arthur knew that she wasn't dead. He'd found it the first time he went into the deserted room. It was only a few days after Morgana's disappearance. Uther was still sure that she would come back at the time, persuaded that it was a normal reaction for a teenager, to rebel against her parents' authority in such a way. She was at a friend's place, he repeated, and would calm down and come back before the end of the week. Of course, she did not. But Arthur knew as soon as they realized that she wasn't in her bedroom anymore, that it was definitive, that she wouldn't come back like his father hoped. Morgana had never been the kind to do things only half way.

 

They used to fight often, like a brother and a sister did, but Arthur knew she loved him deeply, as he loved her, and he couldn't believe she had left without saying goodbye, or even leaving a note, or any kind of sign. He was more angry than sad then, which could be considered weird, but he was 11 and living with Uther. He was more used to anger than sadness. When he sat on the bed, the mattress felt harder than it should have been, and it took only half a second for Arthur to throw the covers away and discover a book, enveloped in the sheets. He tugged it free, and, of course, it was “Merlin and the lost boys”. Arthur opened it carefully, his fingers brushing the yellow paper like it was the most fragile and precious thing in the world – which it was for Arthur at that moment.

On the inside of the cover was written in Morgana's elegant handwriting, “Happy Birthday”.

Oh.

Arthur had almost forgotten. His birthday was in only a week. He caressed the words with the tip of is fingers before closing the book and holding it tight against his chest. Finally, the tears came, and he cried his loneliness away like the child he was, knowing that Morgana wouldn't mock him for doing so.

He was holding the book the exact same way, at the age of 14, when he entered the empty room exactly a week before his birthday. He had kept the book and read it almost every night before going to sleep, but he went to read it in Morgana's bedroom only once a year. Mainly because going too often would be suspicious, and also because he didn't want to look too sentimental, but mostly because it hurts, going back here, where the memory of his sister, the only person who ever knew how life in the Pendragon household was like and who he could share all his secrets with, was the most vivid.

 

He would be 15 in a week. An adult in his father's mind. Arthur still felt like a kid, maybe because he had never been allowed to act like one when he really was. Supposedly, he was a teenager, but he didn't felt like it either. It was kind of weird, like being stuck between two very different things, and being expected to be a full part of one or the other when it was clearly impossible. The only thing you could do then was to pretend, which, thankfully, was something Arthur had become very good at. He had pretended not to feel alone when Morgana left their room. He had pretended not to be hurt when she left. He had pretended many things for his father's sake. To be strong, to be mature, clever, to be an adult. Never to think about Morgana, or his mother, or about being like the other kids that seemed much more happy than him. And he was doing well. Sometimes, although it was rare, Uther complimented his son.

“You've done well.” Uther said. He never developed, but Arthur always cherished those words. Actually, the only thing he cherished more than his father's acknowledgement was the book he was currently holding in his hands.

He opened it slowly.

 

He knew it by heart now, but he still loved it as much as the first time Morgana read the first words to him. The book has always been there when he needed to find courage, or more, in order to allow himself to dream. It was like a friendly hand on his shoulder, and a sweet whisper in his ear telling him that everything was fine, it was all okay. Arthur didn't know why his father hated storybooks and fairy tales so much – of course, there was a part of being mature and adult and “that's not a proper thing to do when you're the heir of a big corporation”, but sometimes it seemed to Arthur that his father kind of...overreacted. Anyway, as much as he loved his father and cherished his praise, he was still his own man, and if he wanted to read about the fantastic adventures of Merlin and the lost boys, he bloody well would! Somehow, after all those years of reading and reading the book again, Merlin had become his friend. It was kind of pathetic, Arthur knew, but Merlin... Merlin was everything a child should be, and more. He was free, allowed to be foolish, to dream, to play, to get lost and make mistakes, and he could laugh when he wanted to without being afraid of being reprimanded severely. Arthur was not jealous of a fictional character. He definitely was not.

 

“Arthur! The coach is here!” A voice called from downstairs. It was George... No, Geoffrey, Arthur's new nanny. Well, officially, he was the Pendragons' butler, but to Arthur, it was the same. Losing Gaius has been hard, and he hadn't been ready for another nanny-dog. None would be as good as Gaius anyway.

Arthur closed the book, stood up, and after making sure that no one was around, left the room silently. He put the book back in its hiding-place in his own bedroom and took his bag with its fencing material. He stopped for a moment, trying to remember if it was really fencing lessons day, or if it was violin. Swimming had been the day before, so it couldn't be that. After a moment, he took another bag, then ran out of his room when Geoffrey's voice resonated again, urging him to come down before it was too late. Arthur thought that they could be a bit more patient. Everyone knew what day it was today; he expected them to understand that he wasn’t in the mood to be urged. They should know after all these years. He wasn't going to complain about it though, because he could admit it, he was not a very patient person himself.

 

Arthur was never expecting anything special for his birthday. He knew there would be a party later, or more, a gala. Something big and expensive where his father could show off like a trophy and present him, as Uther did each year, to his colleagues and clients in order to prepare him for when he would have to take the job. Arthur hated those things, but there was no getting away from it (he had tried once, and he wouldn't try ever again. Let's just say Uther's reaction...well, it hadn't gone well.). However, they never happened on the actual day of his birthday, so it was just another night at home, with maybe a nice dessert if the cook remembered, and – a rare thing nowadays – dinner with his father. Arthur was looking forward to this dinner. He had things he wanted to talk about with Uther, and they rarely had time to have real conversation. If he didn't know his father's love for his work, he would think Uther was avoiding him. Which was ridiculous of course. And birthday or not, they had to talk anyway. Arthur was going to high school soon, and he needed to convince his father to let him take a literature class. It wouldn't be easy, but it was one thing Arthur wouldn't let go. He had agreed to study politics already, which bored the hell out of him, but...no, the most important thing they had to discuss was Arthur going to boarding school. _That_ he knew his father wouldn't like, and Arthur hoped his anger on this subject would make him forget about the literature thing. It's not that he was abandoning his father, or betraying him, it's just that he needed some air. He needed to get out of this doomed house where everything was cold and the air full of sorrow. He needed his freedom, and to not feel his father's constant stare and judgement on him.

 

While waiting for his father in the big, empty dining room, Arthur was surprised to find himself thinking about Neverland. Maybe it was because of the sweet smell coming from the kitchen, or the tic-tac of the clock that reminded him of the crocodile in Merlin's first adventure. What was the captain of the pirates called again? He was lost in his thoughts when Geoffrey entered the room. Geoffrey was an old man, who's been working with his father since Uther first created his business, and when he was too old to work, had become Uther's archive director. After Gaius had died, Uther proposed he, Geoffrey, become the Pendragon butler. Geoffrey was loyal to Uther to the core, and he was nice to Arthur, but Arthur found him boring and his presence was more of a pain in the arse than comforting like Gaius had been. But then, Gaius had been a dog (although Arthur was sure he would have been a very nice and sweet man).

 

“Arthur, I am sorry but...” the old man started.

Arthur immediately knew what Geoffrey was going to say.

“My father has a delay,” he said with consternation. Geoffrey nodded.

“An important client arrived late and they couldn't postpone their meeting. Uther will be back as soon as he can for your birthday, and he regrets deeply not being here for dinner.”

Arthur laughed, but it was a nervous laugh. He passed his hand through his hair before sighing. He didn't know why he was disappointed. It was the kind of thing he should have expected. Things with his father never went as planned. After a moment, he said coldly, “I'd like to be served dinner now, then. I'm tired and I'd like to go to sleep early.”

“Fine,” Geoffrey said, and left in the direction of the kitchen.

Silence fell into the room. Arthur stretched in his chair. He stared at the ceiling without saying a word for a while, until the laugh he had been keeping inside him since Geoffrey left finally break free. This laugh was louder. No one was here to hear him. Absolutely no one. He didn't know he could feel more alone then he already felt, but here he was. How stupid he had been. He thought he would be abandoning his father by leaving the house, but Uther was already abandoning _him_. Or does it even count as ‘abandon’ when Uther has never been with him to begin with? Arthur had no friends, no family, no one to care for him or no one he cared for. He had said before that he still felt like a child, but that had obviously been a lie. Currently, he felt like an old man. A very old, very tired man.

“Morgana. How I wish I could go to Neverland with you...” He whispered to the silence. Wherever Morgana was and where she was happy, she would call it Neverland. The thought made him laugh. He knew she would. But he wasn't here to hear it. He wasn't going to feel betrayed by a years old not-betrayal. He couldn't allow himself to be so weak, he couldn't...

 

“What was that?”

 

Arthur stood up and then went still as the loud “tump” coming from upstairs resonated again.

“Geoffrey?” He called, but there was no answer. He walked silently toward the door and...there it was again. It sounded like...it clearly sounded like someone was upstairs, and from where the sound was coming from, upstairs in his bedroom. He swallowed.

“Geoffrey?” He called again with a small voice has he opened the living room's door. The corridor was dark and empty. A single candle lightened the stairs. For a moment, as he advanced, there wasn't a sound, until the tumps started again.

Oh no. He wasn't going to be scared. If there was an intruder in the house, well... First, he wasn't alone. There was Geoffrey and the cooks and other servants. And he wasn't helpless. He's been taking fencing classes since he was a little kid, and he had taken boxing classes too, at some point. He could face any intruder, he could. He didn't realized that he was in front of his bedroom's door until a really loud sound made him jump.

“OK. OK, fine.” He said softly, to give himself courage. Then he pushed the door open.

 

The room was empty. The lights were off, and the window was open. However, considering the height of his room, whoever had been inside couldn't have got out by there, so Arthur knew they should still be in the room.

There weren't many places to hide in the room. The intruder could only be under the bed, or in the wardrobe. The door opened into the corridor, so no one could be behind it...Arthur looked and looked, and then once more before finally stepping inside, but it was clear that the room was empty. He sighed in relief, wondering where the heck the sound had come from, until it resonated again.

“Who's there?” Arthur said loudly. He knew he hadn't dreamt it. But...another loud “tump”. Arthur turned around, trying to understand, before he saw it.

 

He thought it was an illusion of the light first, but it quickly became clear that it couldn't be, considering the only light in the room came from the hallway beyond the open door. That shadow on the wall in front of him definitely wasn't his. He looked behind him to make sure that no one had magically appeared. OK. He swallowed. The shadow moved. Arthur followed it with his eyes, not daring to move himself.

It was the shadow of a boy. An apparently very happy and playful boy, who liked jumping on Arthur's bed. Or maybe the shadow had a mind of its own, Arthur didn't know, and right at that moment, he didn't care. The sound came from the shadow jumping from wall to wall to ceiling to ground to wall to bed to ceiling again. How a shadow jumped, or made any sounds, Arthur cared even less. He blinked several times, thought about hitting himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming, but he still didn't felt like moving. It didn't make any sense. It wasn't possible. Maybe it was just a projection, a servant playing a joke on him, hiding somewhere with a light and…but how could they manage this kind of realism? When he finally decided to move and get out of the room, the shadow stopped right behind him and grabbed Arthur's own shadow. Arthur tripped, as if someone had grabbed the bottom of his pants. When he looked at the ground behind him, the strange shadow was pulling his own shadow in the opposite direction he had been heading for.

“What...” he started, and turned abruptly. The movement destabilized the other shadow and it let go of Arthur's. Arthur found himself trying to get his balance back, gasping.

 _OK._ He thought. _Whatever that shadow is or wants, I don't give a fuck. It's going to get out of my room now._

On those words, he straightened up and walked towards the shadow at a firm pace. The shadow took a step back at each step Arthur took forward. At some point, it was on Arthur's wardrobe, looking around for an escape. Arthur didn't really know what do now that he had it at his mercy, so he did the same.

 

Apparently, they noticed it at the same time, because there was a short moment, not more than a second, when both stood still before the shadow slipped into the wardrobe, the door having been half open all this time. Immediately, Arthur jumped on the door, closing it, locking it, then running to put the key in a drawer he also locked. He then sat on his bed, his eyes fixed on the wardrobe that was moving as if someone was trapped inside and was trying to get out. Which, if you considered a shadow as a person, was exactly what was happening.

Arthur stayed there, on his bed, still, for a while. It took him a long time to realize that he was shaking quite violently. Finally, he found the courage to take his eyes off of the wardrobe, and to stand up. Before leaving the room, he gave a quick glance at the piece of furniture that had been quiet for several minutes. He closed his bedroom's door carefully before walking slowly toward the kitchen – he needed coffee, and sugar, and actually, if he could sneak up a bit of alcohol, it would be quite nice – and wondering if he was becoming crazy or paranoiac, and that it was quite sad that his fifteen birthday would be labelled as “the day Arthur Pendragon was again ignored by his father and fought against a shadow in his bedroom before falling into madness”. He sighed. What was his life becoming, really...

When he went to sleep that night, he didn't even glance back at the wardrobe, persuaded that it had all been a dream. Or so he repeated to himself as he tried painfully to fall asleep. 


	3. 3.

 Arthur had the conversation he had been planning to have on his birthday with his father a few days later. As expected, it didn't go well. The yelling probably awoke the neighbours, and considering this part of town, where they all lived in big mansions with gardens, this told quite something about how much yelling there had been, and how loud it could get.

Uther hadn't been just angry, like Arthur had expected. He'd been furious, and threatened Arthur with words Arthur never thought he'd heard coming from his father's mouth. Hell, he even said Morgana's name! That really was something. So, at some point, Arthur just said: “Fine!” and got out of the living room, slammed the door, and ran straight to his bedroom.

 

He allowed himself to breath normally only when he had locked the door, made sure that the window was closed not to let the warm air from the outside in, and lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling, now certain that Uther or Geoffrey or anyone wasn't going to come and bang at his door before the next day. Relaxing wasn't easy, but he finally felt better after an hour or two of deep breathing and stretching.

 

It was a beautiful night, the air was warm for this time of the year, and the sky was clear. Surprisingly clear actually. Arthur didn't remember seeing so many stars above London. But then, it's not like he spent a lot of time looking at the sky. Responsibilities, work, all that. His life had been back to normal after his birthday. He had went to school like usual, worked like usual, hung out a bit with a guy from his class (all their fathers were clients of Uther, so he had to keep good relations with them), and made sure not to talk to Uther about his father’s absence on the night of his actual birthday. The only thing that had been different was his wardrobe, which he had carefully not opened since then. Sometimes, he found himself staring at it, wondering if it really had all been a dream. He had been quite sure when he woke up the morning after his birthday, but now, it was different.

 

His father's words resonated in his head.

“It's too late to be foolish, Arthur. You are almost an adult now and I expect you to act as such. You will have plenty of work already, taking another useless...writing class is a stupid idea and whatever you said to your school, you will tell them the contrary.”

Arthur had protested that it was only an hour a week and that having good grades there could be a real bonus, but Uther had only answered that he better not need a bonus.

“When you'll take over after me, you will need to be ready. Your training starts now. You will go to the school I chose for you, and you will take the classes I judge necessary for you to take. This discussion stops here.”

 

The yelling had followed that sentence. Arthur had never felt so not in control of his own life.

Somehow, he hoped that the shadow had been real. He needed...he needed it to be real. He needed something to prove him that there was more to his life than the way his father has drawn for him; that his own dreams mattered too. That this proof took the form of a boy's annoying shadow didn't matter. He wondered about the boy whose shadow it was. If he was as annoying as his shadow, or if he was quieter, which could be why the shadow left him. Or maybe he was a jerk. That would be another good reason.

And, oh God, what was wrong with him, thinking about why a shadow would leave its owner! As if shadows minds of their own. Well, he hoped they didn't. Then, when he wondered what kind of personality his own shadow had, he realized that there was no hope left for him. He really was getting crazy!

 

He was falling asleep when the wardrobe moved again. Or rather, what was trapped inside it moved, in order to get out, and was banging against the door. Arthur jumped to his feet immediately, turning on the light next to his bed. He looked around him and...oh. He had been so focused on the wardrobe that he hadn't noticed that the window was now wide open.

“What, again...” He said, more exasperated than scared. His 'agitated discussion' with his father had drained most of his energy out of him. He didn't have the strength to be scared.

 

“Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up!” A voice said from behind him. Arthur's heart skipped a beat.

He turned to see who was talking to him and found himself facing...nothing. His eyes widened, but then he heard a small laugh and looked up. There was someone behind him, only, the person was also above him. The person – the boy – was _floating_ in the air like it was the most natural thing. Arthur had to concentrate a lot not to jump to his feet and run away as fast as he could. He was really becoming crazy.

 

“OK. What. The. Heck. Is happening here.” Arthur said slowly, almost whispering.

The boy was smiling widely at him. He was about the same age as Arthur, probably the same size although Arthur couldn't tell since _the boy was currently flying above him_. He had messy dark hair, bright blue eyes and some sharp cheekbones. He was wearing a strange outfit, all green except for a red neckerchief, and there was a feather on his ridiculous hat (that Arthur wasn't going to criticize because his own hat – the one he wore to sleep – had a pom-pom on top.). As the boy wasn't saying anything, Arthur continued.

“How are you even...” And then it struck him. Oh. The green outfit, the hat, the messy dark hair... It was obvious. He blinked twice, swallowed slowly and took a deep breath. This couldn't be happening, it really couldn't. Finally, he said it. “You're Merlin, aren't you.”

“You recognized me!” The boy, Merlin, said happily.

“Well with that ridiculous outfit, it was easy.” Arthur said. As soon as Merlin had confirmed his suspicions, he had relaxed. He couldn't even start to imagine Merlin as a threat.

“My outfit is fine, thank you! Have you seen how you are dressed?” Merlin answered, apparently vexed.

“It's my pyjamas!” Arthur claimed. But Merlin was laughing again, louder this time. “Because, as you may have notice, I was sleeping. Or maybe you didn't notice, because if you had you would have been more careful not to wake me up!” Oh, and there, he was starting to get angry.

“I said I was sorry!” Apparently, Merlin was, too.

“That doesn't change that I'm awake now. And talking with someone I'm not even sure is real!”

“Why thank you. I am very real, I'll let you know!”

 

Arthur was now up, perfectly awake, and walking in circles in his bedroom under the gaze of Merlin who was still floating peacefully. He was half persuaded that he was dreaming, which helped him not to panic. He didn't know why he was getting angry. He'd dreamt to meet Merlin his entire childhood. He'd continued to dream of Neverland even after he wasn't a child anymore. Merlin was his hero and everything he wanted to be. Free. Floating. Oh.

Merlin who hadn't moved from his spot above Arthur's bed before was now flying around the bedroom, looking in every corner with attention.

 

“What...are you doing?” Arthur asked, raising an eyebrow.

Merlin stopped in his movement and turned his head to look at Arthur.

“I'm just going to get what I came here for and leave,” the boy said coldly.

“So you are a thief!” Arthur said with atonement.

“No! You've got something that is mine.”

“I don't have anything of yours!” Arthur answered just as the loud “tump” from the inside of his wardrobe started again.

“Here it is!” Merlin said joyfully, and fled to the wardrobe before Arthur could take a step. But apparently, Merlin didn't have any notions of what 'locked' means, and so he was pulling the handle with all his strength, trying helplessly to open the closed door. The picture was so funny that Arthur actually waited a minute before saying anything.

“It is locked, you know.”

Merlin stood still, looked at Arthur with wide eyes and after a short moment, the words seemed to have entered his brain.

“Oh! That's why! Well we just have to find the key!” he said, smiling.

Arthur sighed.

“Wait here. You're not touching any more of my furniture.”

He turned to open the drawer in which he had put the key in. But when he opened it, the key was nowhere to found. Which wasn't possible because he hadn't opened that drawer since the day he had put the key in it, and he was pretty sure that no one else had, either.

“What -” he started, then turned to face Merlin. “OK. That's enough.”

“What?” Merlin repeated. He looked innocent, with his eyes wide and his mouth opened in a small, surprised circle.

“What are you playing at?” Arthur said, feeling the shaking in his hands resonating in his voice as he spoke. “Are you trying to drive me crazy?”

“What?” Merlin said again, louder this time. “No! I just...I came back to retrieve my shadow. It ran away several days ago, but it didn't come back like usual...it took me long enough to track it back here...”

“Your shadow? So it really is a shadow! I was right!” After a moment of intense thinking, Arthur added, “I didn't know spirits had shadows.”

“I'm not a spirit!”

“What are you then? A fairy?” Arthur said, grinning sarcastically.

“I'm a being of flesh and blood like you, thank you very much. Also, the fairy here would be Kil. Right Kil?” Merlin said, looking next to him, but he found himself staring at empty space. “Kil?” he said softly.

 

That's when Arthur noticed it. He had been too focused on Merlin to think about it, but now he wondered...where was the light coming from? It was way too bright in the room for it to only be coming from his bedside lamp. He followed Merlin's eyes to find the light's source and then...the light moved. Arthur gasped. The light was coming from a small humanoid creature that definitely looked like what he imagined a fairy to be.

“Kil, you're supposed to help me!” Merlin said.

Then, Merlin and the fairy starting talking, or more precisely, arguing; only to Arthur, it was a one-way conversation because he didn't understand fairy language. Actually, he didn't even hear the fairy's voice. He looked at them with a raised eyebrow, waiting for an explanation. As the two magical creatures (he refused to think of Merlin as human. Humans didn't float!) didn't pay any attention to him, he finally remembered.

 

“Oh my God! It's Kilgharrah the fairy! It's an actual fairy! From the book! You're really Merlin!” He exclaimed, sounding way much happier than he intended to.

Merlin and Kilgharrah looked at him sceptically.

“Yes?” Merlin said, but it sounded more like a question.

After a silence, Arthur took a deep breath and walked toward his bed. He sat on it carefully, then looked at Merlin and whispered.

“I...need a moment. To process...” He made a vague hand gesture toward Merlin and Kilgharrah.

Merlin smiled gently. “Sure. Kil got the key anyway, so I can retrieve my shadow now.” But Arthur was already not listening. He was lost in his thoughts, processing the fact that Merlin and the fairy were real and that he wasn't becoming crazy. That his storybook hasn't just been a story. That everything he dreamt of since he was a child was true. It was a lot to process, and required a lot of concentration, which is why he wasn't expecting the super loud sound that resonated in his bedroom when Merlin opened the wardrobe's door.

“STAY HERE!” Merlin screamed at his shadow, which was trying to escape his grip. Arthur was on his feet immediately.

“What?” he said, for at least the tenth time that night.

The shadow jumped out of Merlin's hands, followed by Merlin, who jumped to a wall then to the ceiling, then to another wall, trying to grab his shadow, which was trying to escape him. Arthur found himself surrounded by the chase, horrified as he saw them jumping on his furniture with no delicacy at all.

Finally, Merlin got a firm hold of the shadow. He stood proudly in front of Arthur, holding the shadow like a trophy, smiling.

“Look! I got it!”

“I see that.” Arthur said, still worried about the state of his room. They'd made a mess, of course. He sighed. “What are you going to do with it now?”

“Well it's obvious! I'm going to attach it to my feet.” Merlin said, looking at Arthur as if he was stupid. But it wasn't like Arthur often encountered runaway shadows!

 

Merlin sat on the edge of Arthur's bed, and started applying the shadow under his feet. Arthur sat next to him, and waited. When after several long minutes it became obvious that the shadow wouldn't stay, Arthur sighed again, stood up and said firmly to Merlin, “Wait here…”

He walked to the dresser in which he had put the key several days earlier. He saw that Kilgharrah was following him, but didn't pay attention to the fairy. Arthur opened a drawer, took a small box out, and walked back to Merlin, who was looking at him with curiosity.

“What is that?” The strange boy asked as Arthur opened the box.

“It's a sewing kit.” Arthur said distantly, concentrated on finding the right needle. “Morgana gave it to me. Taught me how to sew.” Merlin didn't seem to get Arthur's point, so Arthur continued. “She said that it could be useful...well apparently, she was right. It's going to be useful now.” Once he found the right needle, he grabbed Merlin's foot. Merlin tried to move away before stopping abruptly. His face suddenly lightened as he got it.

“Ooh! You're going to sew my shadow to my feet! That's clever.”

“I _am_ clever.” Arthur said, knowing how he sounded like. He didn't care, Merlin vexed expression was too much fun to watch not to act like the posh boy Merlin surely thought he was. (Well, he _was_ posh for sure; his father was rich! But he liked to think that he wasn't as egoistical and pretentious compared to the other posh boys at his school.)

“That doesn't stop you from being a prat,” Merlin said with a smirk. Arthur restrained himself from putting the needle into Merlin’s foot. Instead, he took the shadow and started sewing it to Merlin's shoe. Later, he would wonder how a shadow even had a mass and how sewing it to something would be of any use, but at the time, nothing that had happened since the shadow’s first appearance made much sense, so it was just a detail lost between many other stranger ones.

 

When Merlin was sure that his shadow was not going anywhere, he jumped in the air with a small cry of joy and stayed there, floating happily.

“I would say thank you if you weren't looking so proud of yourself,” he said to Arthur, smiling.

“Well, you can't deny that it wasn't a good idea,” Arthur answered. He was still sitting on his bed, looking at Merlin and Kilgharrah above him. He was smiling too, but it was mostly to hide his anxiety. _What now?_ He wondered.

And as if Merlin had been able to hear his thought, he said,

“Well, it's time to go back to Neverland!”

Kilgharrah nodded, or at least Arthur thought he nodded. The creature was so small it was hard to be sure from a distance.

Arthur stood up and walked to the window. He looked outside, at the clear night sky, before turning to Merlin.

“Neverland…” he whispered. “Where is it, actually? How do you even get there? By boat?”

Merlin looked at him as if Arthur was the stupidest person he had ever met.

“By flying, of course!” he said, as if it was evident.

Arthur shuttered. “How would I know. Flying is not very common in our world.”

Merlin, who had been flying in a circle in Arthur's bedroom, stilled and stared at Arthur, looking absolutely horrified.

“You mean...are you...are you telling me you've never flown?” he sounded profoundly shocked.

“I've never flown?” Arthur said, raising an eyebrow.

“But...but it's so easy! How could you not…” Merlin continued, coming down from the ceiling to stand and face to Arthur. “Just try!”

Arthur actually laughed. This was by far the most ridiculous thing anyone had ever said to him. But still, he asked.

“How do you do it?”

Merlin blinked.

“I've...i've never thought about it. I've always been able to fly, as far as my memories go.”

He stayed silent for a moment, lost in his thoughts. Finally, Kilgharrah, who was apparently getting tired of waiting, poked at Merlin's shoulder and made a small movement that looked like some kind of dance, one that Merlin seemed to understand.

“Thank you, Kil! Arthur, Arthur, listen, it's easy! You have to think of something happy and you'll fly!” He sounded so proud of himself Arthur had to resist the urge to tease him. For some mysterious reason, he liked teasing Merlin. But instead of saying, wow, _that was hard wasn't it?_ he said :

“That's all?”

Merlin nodded, and before Arthur could react, took his hand and guided him to Arthur's bed. They stood on it. Merlin pushed a confused Arthur to the end of the bed.

 

“What?” Arthur asked.

“Well, you're going to try. Find a happy thought! A really happy one! And jump.”

The bed wasn't high, even if he fell, it wasn't going to hurt...what was he saying? _When_ he was going to fall, it wouldn't hurt. Because he _was_ going to fall. People didn't simply _fly_. Yet, he was going to try because, well, because it looked fun, and everything was mad and one more mad thing wasn't going to hurt anyone. And because he'd dreamt of flying so many times he wasn't going to lose his one chance of trying.

So he got ready, closed his eyes, and concentrated on finding a happy thought. A really happy one. It was less easy than it seemed. But he got it, and smiled at Merlin, who took that as his signal.

“Go?”

“Go,” Arthur said. And he got ready to jump and...Kilgharrah was flying straight to him, dispersing a quite impressive quantity of fairy powder around him. Both Arthur and Merlin looked in confusion at the fairy that agitated itself in front of them. Arthur was starting to suspect that those weird movements were ‘fairy language’, because Merlin seemed to understand what Kilgharrah was trying to tell them. The boy's eyes widened and he slammed his head with his hand.

“Oh crap! I am so stupid! I almost forgot!”

“Oh my God…” Arthur sighed. And before he could ask anything, Merlin had grabbed Kilgharrah and was shaking the fairy above Arthur's head, covering Arthur in fairy powder. Arthur was starting to get a bit annoyed at Merlin's habit of doing weird things to Arthur without warning him.

“Now you can fly!” Merlin said proudly.

“I can?” Arthur said before mentally hitting himself for asking such a stupid question and sounding so hopeful.

“Yep! Just try!” Merlin said, pushing him.

 

Arthur got ready for the fall, the shock, and the pain, but instead he found himself floating next to Merlin, who had the brightest smile Arthur had ever seen.

It was a weird feeling, floating. A bit like being underwater, expect the air didn't have any weight. He didn't feel pulled to the ground or anything. He was just there...actually flying. Oh God. He really couldn't believe it. He most certainly was dreaming now if he hadn't already been before.

He tried moving, and it really was like swimming.

“Let's go now!” Merlin said.

Oh. Arthur almost forgot that Merlin was right next to him, lost in the glee of, impossibly, _flying_.

“Go where?” He asked.

“Neverland, you idiot! Where else?”

“But...Neverland isn't real,” Arthur said, confused. A magical boy and a fairy, OK, that much he could believe. But a magical island no one knew about? Certainly not. He still had a brain, thank you very much.

Except that both Merlin and Kilgharrah looked angrily at him.

“You really are a prat, aren't you? And a rude one! Of course it exists. Just because you, oh master of all knowledge, haven't been there, it doesn't mean that it isn’t real,” Merlin said.

Arthur frowned. “If such an island existed, the world would know. You can't hide an entire island!”

“Neverland isn't just an island,” Merlin said firmly.

“Oh really? Then what is it? A country? Another planet?” Arthur said sarcastically.

“Let me show you.” Merlin said, his voice suddenly softer.

“What?”

“I will take you there.” He stopped. “Well, I would understand if you don't want to go. You seem like you don't like to be proved wrong.”

“No.” Arthur said. “No, no no! This is mad. This... It has to be a dream, it can't be anything else. I'll wake up in my bed tomorrow, and I'll ask Geoffrey what he put in my tea before going to sleep.”

“So I'm just a dream! That again! Thank you, I feel very validated in my existence.”

“But Neverland isn't real, you idiot!” Arthur yelled.

“It's not my problem if you don't believe in it. I knew you were too old and cold to...that you wouldn't...” he stopped. “Anyway, I'm going back, if you want to come, this is your last chance.”

Arthur stayed silent. If it really was just a dream – no, of course it was just a dream – there wouldn't be any problem if he went. He would still wake up in his bed the next morning, only with a more interesting dream. He wanted to tell Merlin to piss off, but at the same time...he was still floating. And it felt great. And Merlin was smiling at him, even if it was only to mock him, and really, Neverland!

“Fine!” He finally said. “I'm coming! But only to prove that it isn't real. I maintain that I'm going to wake up in my bed tomorrow, probably with a headache now after arguing with you.”

“Yes!” Merlin did what would have been a jump if he had been on the ground. “Come on!” And he grabbed Arthur's hand, tugging him to the open window. Arthur tried to break free from Merlin's grip, but Merlin frowned.

“You're going to get lost...”

Arthur raised an eyebrow. “Tell me the way then, in case I do get lost.”

“Oh, it's simple! Second star to the right and straight on ‘til morning!”

And on those words, he tugged Arthur out of his bedroom and away from his house, flying in the bright sky covered in stars above the city. Everything then was so beautiful and magical that Arthur forgot how to be angry and didn't even try to stop himself from smiling. 


	4. 4.

 Arthur had no idea how long they'd been flying, but he started to get bored after the first hour of just seeing clouds, so when the sea of clouds dissipated and he could see water underneath him, he was absurdly happy.

Merlin, who had let go of his hand after they left the sky of London, grabbed him again and started to slow their descent toward a small dark point in the middle of water. A dark point that, as they approached, appeared to look more and more like an island. A very large, very green and very strangely shaped island. Arthur gasped.

“Neverland!” he yelled.

“Told you so.” Merlin said, smiling. But Arthur was too astonished to complain or be sarcastic. He was really going to Neverland!

They were very close now, and Arthur could see everything distinctly. The trees, a small mountain, a village, ships in the water, a cannonball that was currently flying toward them at a quite impressive speed...

A cannonball?

“Merlin!” Arthur screamed, and Merlin reacted just in time, pushing Arthur away as the cannonball pierced the cloud in front of them. Arthur had the time to see other cannonballs being shot at them from the pirate ship beneath them, before Merlin let go of his hand and yelled, “Go! I'm going to drive the balls away from you! Hide in the forest, I'll join you in a minute!” And he jumped to another cloud, away from Arthur.

Flying was more complicated without the safe presence of Merlin next to him, but he had to go, before the pirates noticed him. He took a deep breath, searched out the forest and got ready to go, when he heard Merlin screaming.

Arthur turned to see Merlin jumping in the clouds, trying to draw the attention of the pirates. Arthur sighed with relief, and turned toward the forest again, but he didn’t notice the cannonball coming toward him. It wasn't directed at him because it missed him by a metre, but it was close enough that Arthur lost his balance and started to fall.

It was such a shock that by the time he realized that he was falling, it was too late to try to regain his balance and resume flying. He saw the green leaves and branches rushing toward him, and braced himself for impact, putting his arms over his face to protect it.

Even so, the fall was painful. Branches scratched him, tearing holes in his clothes and breaking under his weight with sounds like bones breaking. But the branches also slowed him down, and when he finally hit the ground, it didn't hurt as much as he had expected. He would have bruises, for sure, but after he got his breath back and his heartbeat went back to a normal pace, he was able to stand up, though he was in pain. He brushed the dust off his destroyed pyjamas and looked around him when--

A man – boy?- jumped in front of him, armed with a stick. Arthur only managed to avoid the blow because he had already started to walk in the opposite direction.

“Can I have a minute to breathe?” he said loudly, staring at the boy who had just attacked him. He was around the same age as Arthur, and as built as him, with long, messy brown hair, wearing a dirty brown shirt. His weapon was a simple wooden stick. He was staring at Arthur with angry eyes, his posture screaming ‘attack!’

“Listen...” Arthur started, but before he could finish the sentence, others came out from behind the trees.

Arthur took the time to think before saying anything. There was five boys his age, all dressed in dirty green or brown clothes with messy hair (except one who didn't have enough hair for it to be messy) and they were all armed with sticks and stones. And they all stared at Arthur with anger and determination.

“I...” Arthur tried again.

“Are you a pirate?” blurted out the tallest of the boys, curly haired, and with a big wooden sword that made Arthur laugh and worry at the same time.

“What? No! Do I look like a pirate?” he replied. The boys seemed to think about it for a moment, then one asked, “What are you then?”

“My name is Arthur and...”

“Are you a fairy?” asked another. Apparently the habit of cutting people off mid-sentence was common to everyone living in Neverland.

“Or a ghost?” asked yet another.

“No, no! I am human for god's sake!”

“I don't trust him,” the first boy whispered, and immediately jumped on Arthur, throwing him to the ground. Arthur pushed the boy away and jumped to his feet, taking a defensive position. The other boys ran toward him, sticks first, but Arthur managed to block their assaults and steal one of their sticks. As soon as he had it in hand, all the training from his fencing lessons flowed into him and he was ready to attack.

Arthur was fighting the boy with the long brown hair when Merlin arrived. The four others were still standing, but didn’t dare to come too close. Arthur quickly understood that this was the strongest boy, and apparently the boy also understood that Arthur wasn't just any adversary.

He was smiling now, and the messy fight had turned into a duel in a matter of minutes. Arthur was smiling, and so was the boy he was fighting. He wasn't going to admit it, but he was having a lot of fun. He rarely had the occasion to fight outside of his extremely controlled fencing class where there were rules for everything. And he rarely had an opponent of his age and level. Also, Arthur believed that a person's fighting style showed what kind of person they were, and that boy was definitely a good person. Such an honest way to fast...

So, Merlin arrived in the middle of the fight – well, maybe fifteen minutes after the fight had started, but Arthur guessed it would have continued for at least twice as long as that if Merlin hadn't interrupted them. As soon as he touched the ground, everyone stilled. Arthur took a step away from the boy he had been facing and looked at Merlin, confused.

“What’s happening?” Merlin asked, voice rough. He was angry, and Arthur didn't understand why.

“They attacked me when I fell,” he said. Merlin, who had been looking at the other boys, turned to face him.

“You fell?” he said. Arthur could hear the laughter in his voice.

“A cannonball was shot at me! I lost my balance!” Arthur tried to defend himself. The other boys were also laughing now, trying to hide it behind their hands. “That isn't funny!”

“Sorry, sorry!” Merlin said. “Now, boys, care to tell me why you attacked Arthur?”

Arthur's eyes widened.

“You know them?” he asked, astonished.

“Of course! Let me do the introductions. Arthur, this is the Lost Boys. Lost Boys, this is Arthur. I'm proving to him that Neverland is real.”

Arthur crossed his arms in front of his chest and looked at the five boys who had attacked him. Merlin went to Arthur and stood next to him, put his hands on his hips and gave the boys a mean look.

“Now, why did you attack Arthur?”

“We thought he was a pirate!” said one. “Or a ghost! He's dressed all in white!”

“Have you seen the state of his clothes? You have to admit he looks suspicious.”

“That's because I fell into the trees, you idiot!” Arthur said. But Merlin looked at him with concern.

“You're not hurt, are you?”

Arthur shook his head. He was a bit sore from the fight, but neither his fall nor the fight had managed to truly hurt him.

“Good. We'll have to find you new clothes though, because those really do make you look like a ghost,” Merlin replied, smiling. He turned to face the boys again. “Now, Arthur is our guest, so no more fighting, understood?”

The boys nodded.

Merlin's smile brightened.

“Good! Now let's give Arthur a tour! You can say sorry on the way.” And with those words, he walked away.

 

Arthur followed him to a path he hadn't noticed before. Now that he finally had the time to observe the forest around him, he couldn't deny that it was beautiful. All the colours were vibrant, so alive. There were trees and plants he had never seen before, with gigantic leaves, strange fruits and flowers. The sounds of the forest, so many and all beautiful, coordinated like music: birds singing, the wind in the trees, the sea not so far of..Arthur was mesmerized.

Suddenly, Gwaine appeared in front of him. Or he thought it was Gwaine, he had heard Merlin calling him like that, but he wasn't sure.

“Hi, I'm Gwaine!”

Well, that cleared it up.

“Sorry for attacking you like that, but we can’t be too careful, with the pirates going farther and farther inland...” Gwaine continued.

“No, it's fine, I understand,”Arthur said, a bit more coldly than he’d intended.

“And I have to say mate, that was a pretty good fight!” Gwaine smiled brightly. Arthur couldn't resist smiling back. It really had been a good fight.

“So, we're good?” Gwaine said. Arthur nodded. “Amazing!” Gwaine gave Arthur a big slap on the back. Arthur wondered if they were all as talkative as Gwaine. It was proven otherwise almost immediately.

A tall boy, the one with cropped hair, came up next to him and smiled shyly.

“I'm Percival. Nice to meet you. And... Sorry... For earlier.” His voice was soft, and he sounded truly sorry. Arthur felt the urge to assure him that it was fine, that the fight had been pretty fun actually, but before he could say anything, another boy appeared behind Percival.

He looked a bit older than the rest of them, had curly hair and the beginnings of a beard. His hand was on Percival shoulder, probably to reassure him, and Arthur guessed that he was the father figure in this strange little group.

“We've been on our guards lately, and Merlin didn't tell us that he'd bring a guest. We hope te can make it up to you during your stay!"He smiled warmly. Arthur hadn't know them for more than an hour, and most of it has deen dedicated to fighting them, but he alfound he ready liked them. They seemed to be genuinely nice people. “Oh, I'm Leon by the way.” The curly-haired boy added. He hold his hand for Arthur to shake which he did, he had a feeling that he had kust sealed what would become a great friendship.

The two other boys presented themselves soon after Leon. There was Elyan, who apparently was only an honorary member, because he was also part of the tribe that lived at the other side of the island.

“My father's the chief, so I'm supposed to become chief one day too , but there isn't much to do so I'm allowed to stay with them." he explained to Arthur.

And then, there was Lancelot, who Arthur had decided, only five minutes after speaking to him, was the nicest, noblest person to ever exist. Lancelot wouldn't stop apologizing and complimenting Arthur on his fighting skills, and talking with exaggerated enthusiasm about everything that surrounded them and about how Neverland was such an amazing place and Merlin was so great and...

“We're here!” Merlin yelled from somewhere in front of them.

“Where?” Arthur asked, suddenly realizing that he'd been caught up talking with the boys as that he hadn't looked around him for the entire walk. He blinked and stared. They were in front of the sea. The water was a pale, transparent blue, small waves breaking against rocks, shiny under the bright sun. It was more a crypt than a beach. There wasn't any sand, only rocks, but they seemed as comfortable as sand could be, round and polished by the salted water. The way the sun lightened the place gave it an even more ephemeral look. Arthur was breathless.

“It's beautiful, isn't it?” A voice said next to him.

Arthur turned around abruptly to face a smiling Merlin.

“Yes.” Arthur said, and it came out as a whisper. He finally noticed the silence and looked around for the lost boys. “Where...” He started, but before he could finish, Merlin tilted his head toward the sea. There, on the rocks, were the boys, and sitting with them were the mermaids.

Mermaids.

“Are those...? Are....” Arthur tried to say, but he was too surprised and confused to process words. He took a deep breath and finally managed to say “Really? Mermaids?”, his voice shaking a bit. Merlin raised an eyebrow, as if he was surprised that Arthur was surprised. “Oh.” Arthur said after a short silence. “What am I saying. Of course there's mermaids! Why wouldn't there be mermaids?”

“Do you want to meet them?” Merlin asked, sounding hesitant. Arthur sighed.

“Yeah, yeah why not.”

Merlin smiled and jumped in the air, where he stayed, floating. Arthur had almost forgot about the whole flying thing. He wasn't sure he was still able to fly and wondered what he could do when Merlin hold out his hand. Without thinking, Arthur took it in his and was instantly pulled in the air where he found himself floating next to Merlin with the same ease than when they were flying over London.

“Come on!” Merlin said, and pulled Arthur toward the rocks where the mermaids were resting, making conversation with the lost boys.

As soon as Merlin appeared in their vision, they all turned to face him, their faces suddenly illuminated.

“Merlin!” They all cried out.

“Hello ladies, how are you all doing?” Merlin said as he went down and stepped on a rock. Arthur stood next to him, staring at the strange creatures in front of him, when the pointed look of one of them made him realize that he was still holding Merlin's hand.

He let out a surprised “oh!” and took his hand away as if he'd been burned. He hoped he hadn't embarrassed Merlin in front of his friends.

 

“The boys were telling us that you bought a guest.” One of the mermaids said. Her voice sounded like the water, clear and pure. She had long blond hair the covered her chest, her skin was pale, almost greenish, but what made her look even more surreal were her shiny red eyes.

“They're telling the truth, Sophia.” Merlin said as the mermaid swam toward them to rest at the bottom of the rock they were standing on. “Girls, meet Arthur.”

Arthur smiled as he found himself surrounded by the mermaids, but he wasn't feeling very comfortable. They were looking at him like he was some kind of delicious food they couldn't wait to eat. Not literally eat of course, more like... Arthur didn't want to think about it. Also, that first mermaid, Sophia? She looked like she wanted to devour him, but really literally, which wasn't reassuring at all.

“Why don't you come and swim with us Arthur? We can show you many things...” Sophia cooed.

“Yes, yes!” Another said, “Good idea!” And she crawled on the rock to get closer to Arthur, stretching her arm to reach out for Arthur, but before she could touch him, she was pulled back by yet another mermaid.

“Vivian! You would keep him all to yourself, wouldn't you? That's not nice! Arthur has the right to get to know all of us!”

“Mithian, you're no fun.” The mermaid, Vivian, pouted.

“Girls, calm down! Arthur will spend time with all of you, I promise!” Merlin cut them. Arthur discretely punched Merlin on the arm. “Ouch!” Merlin gave him an angry look. Arthur tried to make him understand that there was no way he was spending anymore time around the mermaids. He was less and less certain about how metaphoric their want to eat him was.

The mermaids all sighed. Merlin put his hands on his hips, proud of himself, and turned to Arthur.

“So, now we can...”

“Merlin!” A voice yelled. It was Leon, and at the tone of his voice, he didn't had good news.

Merlin's smiled immediately disappeared.

“What is it?” He asked, already ready to fly to the lost boys. Arthur hadn't paid a lot of attention to them since he has been busy with the mermaids, so only now he noticed that they were all hiding behind a bigger rock and scrutinizing the horizon. The mermaids had gone silent and were looking in the same direction as the boys.

Leon's voice, when he answered, was a whisper.

“Pirates.”

They all reacted immediately.

The mermaids looked at each other, horrified, before plunging into the water and disappearing in its deepness. Merlin grabbed Arthur's arm and dragged him to where the boys where standing, hushing him to silence then turned to the small overture in the rock that allowed them to look at the pirates approaching.

The pirates weren't going in their direction, which was a good sign, but they still had to keep quiet. It wasn't the big ship Arthur had seen from the sky when he arrived, just a small boat with exactly 4 people on it. It was apparently going back to the main ship. Arthur pushed Gwaine away to have a better view. He wondered what the pirates looked like up close.

Then, his heart skipped a bit and he stopped breathing.

This was not possible. Really. Over all the impossible things that happened in the past few days, this was the most impossible one.

Morgana.


	5. 5.

“Morga...” Merlin put his hand on Arthur's mouth before Arthur could finish saying the name. He looked at Merlin with indignation. Merlin took his hand away, putting a finger on his own lips to make clear to Arthur that they weren't allowed to make a sound. Arthur mouthed 'my sister' but apparently, Merlin didn't understand because he turned to look at the small boat.  
Morgana wasn't alone, but she was the more noticeable. She wore a long green dress and a huge hat with green and blue feathers. Her hair was longer than Arthur remembered, and she looked older, as expected.  
She was standing up on the boat, looking straight ahead. Next to her was another woman in a dark red dress, her face hidden under a hat even bigger than Morgana's. And, at the end of the boat, there was a man who really looked like a pirate. He had tanned skin, dirty brown hair, a scruffy beard, and two swords attached to his belt.  
Arthur's brain tried to think why Morgana would be with the pirates, but he already had trouble accepting that she was here at all.  
  
Staying there, hiding behind a rock when she was only a few meters away, was more than frustrating. He grabbed Merlin's arm to get his attention, and felt the muscle tensing under his grip. However, Merlin didn't look at him. Instead, he stared at the boat, a terrified expression on his face.  
Curious, Arthur let go of his arm and looked back at the boat. Only then he noticed the fourth person.  
She was sitting down (redundant since we already know they are standing), and she wasn't moving. She was a cute girl, probably a few years younger than Arthur, with long dark hair, beautiful dark skin, and a dress that reminded Arthur's of Elyan's clothes. When Elyan gasped, Arthur realized that she must be from his tribe. What was worse was that the girl on the boat was also tied up.  
  
They stayed there quietly, not moving, barely breathing, until the small boat was far enough that the pirates wouldn't notice them. Then, Merlin stood up, brushed the dust off his clothes and looked at all of them with a determined expression.  
“Let's go home. Keep quiet until you're there.”  
The lost boys all nodded and stood up. Arthur didn't feel like his legs hold him up, so he only stared at Merlin. He was angry at him for not doing anything at first, but after seeing Elyan's stoic face, , he calmed down and remembered that rushing things was never a good idea. Plus, he didn't know this place and it certainly had different rules from his own world. Interfering without a clue of what was going on was completely stupid.  
  
He watched as the lost boys left, disappearing into the forest, before turning back to Merlin who is standing in front of him. He looked... sad.  
  
Arthur wanted to say he was sorry for trying to talk earlier, but when he opened his mouth, what came out was “She's my sister.”  
Merlin nodded "I got that," he said. Arthur tilted his head. "Come on, Arthur, we can't stay here."  
Arthur sighed. Merlin held out his hand help him up. Arthur didn't move.  
“The mermaids will be back soon, you know.” Merlin said with a smile, one that didn't completely hide his worry.  
Arthur placed his hands in Merlin's and was immediately pulled up, finding himself on his feet before he could blink.  
“Here.” Merlin said, still holding Arthur's hand – that was a recurring thing that Arthur needed to talk to Merlin about. “That wasn't complicated, was it?”  
“I never said it was complicated!” Arthur snapped . He could stand up if he wanted to, thank you very much. He wasn't five years old.  
“Well you certainly looked like you thought your legs would break if you stood up.” Merlin teased. At Merlin's tone and the reassuring warmth of Merlin's hand in his, Arthur relaxed.  
“Yeah, sure, it's not like I was expecting to see my sister, who I thought was dead, in Neverland, you know!” It was partially a lie; he never thought that Morgana was dead. But he also never expected her to actually be there. But since obsessing about it won't change the reality of the situation, he added, “Where are we going?”  
At those words, Merlin smiled widely. "Our home. Let me show you."  
Merlin showed him a bit of the island before flying to their destination; by the time they arrived, the sun was setting.  
Neverland was a truly beautiful place, and while they were flying over it, Arthur was mesmerized enough to forget about Morgana; the worry in his stomach calmed down a little. But as soon as Merlin said, “Time to go home,” it came back with surprising strength.  
  
They took their time getting back. They had been silent since they had left the mermaids's crypt, and and stayed so during the whole journey to Merlin's home.  
  
Arthur was truly curious about Merlin and the lost boys' home. He wondered what kind of place a group of wild boys like them would live. Certainly not a proper house! Maybe a cave, or a cabin in the trees. He'd prefer a tree-house; caves freaked him out (although he would never admit it).  
But going to their home would mean they would have to sleep, and Arthur, who didn't felt like sleeping at all, knew that for him it would mean plenty of time to think and worry. , He wasn't looking forward to it.  
When Merlin called his name, he had to blink twice before realizing where they were. Right in front of them, there was a big, very creepy dead tree.  
  
“Arthur, we're here!” Merlin said happily.  
Arthur blinked again.  
“Is that... A dead tree?” He asked, already feeling the nervous laughter growing in his throat.  
“Yes?” Merlin answered, but it sounded more like a question than an affirmation. “Come on, it's getting cold, and staring at it won't make it move or whatever....”  
And on those words, before Arthur could even open his mouth, Merlin pushed him into the dead tree's trunk. Arthur screamed.  
Arthur closed his eyes, waiting to hit the ground, but instead found himself floating a few centimetres above it and surrounded by all the lost boys who were apparently trying not to laugh.  
“That was a very manly scream, Arthur,” said Gwaine.  
“Very manly indeed!” added Percival in a chuckle , his arm across Gwaine's shoulders, both of them bending forward to be at Arthur's level. They were laughing out loud now, but they still helped him to stand up and get on the solid ground.  
“Sorry, sorry!” Lancelot said, “It's just that we don't get visitors very often, and this place is just really cool. We're just showing off, sorry!”  
  
But Arthur had forgotten his fear and anger and was looking around him with the same mesmerized expression that he'd worn all day when looking at the rest of Neverland.  
On the outside, it was a very ordinary dead tree. Well, actually, it was more a very, very creepy dead tree, but in any case, it was hard to imagine that the inside was so big and warm and very much alive.  
The tree was only an entrance, or at least one of them. The main room where they all stood was round and hugeIt looked like it was deep underground as the opening at the top of trunk seemed really high up. There were tunnels of different sizes along the walls and he guessed that there were other rooms and entrances, because really, what would so many tunnels be for in not that? But the room seemed to contain everything that was necessary.  
  
There were many cavities in the walls – probably the roots of the tree – most of them filled with pillows and covers, some of them with food and some various objects that Arthur couldn't guess their use. There was one that looked like a fireplace, which made Arthur blink. Really? A fireplace in a tree? But Neverland had its own laws of physics so maybe it was safe. Considering how warm it was outside, they weren't going to need a fire any time soon.  
Finally, he noticed the ropes attached to the branches of the trees – that, impossibly, were inside its trunk - and there were higher cavities apparently only accessible by climbing the ropes. The place was a labyrinth and seemed full of wonders.  
  
Merlin appeared with huge, yellow fruits in his arms. He gave one to each boy and showed Arthur how to eat his. The discussion was animated, about the pirates mostly, and what to do save Elyan's sister, Gwen –the girl tied up in the boat,– but not a word about Morgana.  
Arthur didn't dare ask. He knew they'd have to talk about her sooner or later, but he wanted to talk to Merlin first. Merlin would know more, he was certain of it.  
Time went by and at some point, they were all drifting toward sleep, so Merlin told them to go to bed. The boys walked toward their nests in the walls, blowing out the candles that lighted the way.  
  
Arthur had no idea where he was supposed to sleep. There were enough places to accommodate at least ten more people, but it only made it more complicated. He didn't know which of the numerous beds he was supposed to use. Plus, he was really tired and had trouble keeping his eyes open.  
He barely felt Merlin's hands on his shoulder, pushing him toward the nearest empty cavity.  
“Meeeer-lin.” Arthur mumbled, not appreciating that he had to move.  
“Shhh, Arthur, just a few more step and you'll be able to sleep in a comfortable, warm bed,” Merlin whispered.  
The tree was completely dark now, the only source of light being the moon, its light coming from the opening at the top of the tree. There was snoring;the lost boys were already all in a deep sleep.  
Gwaine grunted in his sleep and Lancelot murmured something about dragons and swords. Elyan kept rolling around in his covers. Only Percival was silent and still, but no less lost in his dream. Merlin smiled at the sight.  
  
Arthur literally fell face first in the bed. Merlin pushed him further in so that his leg wasn't outside the cavity. Then, as Arthur made himself comfortable, Merlin tugged the covers over him.  
“ 'am not five.” Arthur murmured, eyes already closed and mind ready to drift away.  
Merlin chucked. “Yeah, sure. Go to sleep you prat!”  
“Go to sleep yourself,” Arthur said softly. His mind was clouded and the world of dream opened its door for him...  
  
Arthur woke up breathless.  
He blinked, for a short moment with no idea of where he was. Then it all sank in. He was in Neverland.  
He looked around him, touched the wooden wall to make sure of it. He was still in Neverland Oh well... Denying it was pretty impossible now, but that wouldn't stop him from teasing Merlin about it.  
It was still dark, so he guessed that he hadn't been asleep for long. He still felt tired, but he didn't wanted to go back to sleep, didn't knew if he even could. He didn't remembered what he has been dreaming about, but whatever it was, it had left him nauseous and with a bad feeling in his guts. Also, he was very, very thirsty.  
He spotted Merlin, sitting on one of the biggest branches crossing the trunk from one side to the other and obviously not asleep. As he got out of his cavity-bed, he tried to be as silent as possible in order not to wake the others, but Merlin heard his footsteps and turned to look at him.  
“Hi, er... I wanted... water...” Arthur said as low as he could.  
Merlin nodded and came down gracefully.  
“Kil!” Merlin called in a whisper. Before Arthur could even try to understand, the fairy appeared next to him, softly lightening the room, with a goblet of water floating next to him. Arthur took it without hesitation and emptied it at once. Then, he cleaned his mouth with his sleeve.  
“Thanks,” he whispered, and Kilgharrah disappeared as fast as he arrived.  
“Can't sleep?” Merlin asked softly. Arthur nodded.  
Then, Merlin smiled. It was a different smile than the one Arthur had seen on him before. This one looked sad, sadder than tears, but it also looked hopeful, and that's what made Arthur smile back. “Come on, I'll show you something.”  
  
Merlin brushed his fingers on Arthur's arm, then flew off. For a short moment, Arthur thought he wouldn't be able to follow him, but he wanted to, so he searched deep inside him. Oover the memory of Morgana, over the pain of her absence, of her betrayal, over the too many questions that filled his mind, he found his happy memory. A smile, a warm one, on sweet pink lips that called his name, “Arthur, my baby, my son.”the tender arms of his mother enveloping him and the feeling of safety. Then, he was off the ground, floating toward the top of the trunk where Merlin was waiting for him.  
“What is it?” Arthur asked as he settled next to Merlin on one of the highest branches of the dead tree.  
Merlin was still smiling and Arthur couldn't help but find it reassuring.  
“Look around you!” Merlin said . Now they could talk freely without fearing of waking up the others. “Isn't it beautiful? I've always been in Neverland, but I can't help and find it beautiful every time.”  
  
The sky was clear, a dark blue covered in stars. They were bright, shinier than they could ever be in the sky of London, and there were lots more. The moon was there too, almost full and lightening the entire island and the sea surrounding it with its soft light. Everything was calm, silent, but not dead, and the big forest wasn't scary like Arthur imagined it would be in the dark. There was almost no wind and the air was fresh, adding the stillness of the night.  
  
“It is. It's... I can't believe it's real.” Arthur admitted.  
“So you say it's real!” Merlin laughed.  
Arthur frowned. “No I... I don't think I'll be able to accept that it's real any time soon. I can't... I can't process it. It shouldn't be real.”  
“I get it Arthur, don't worry. I can see how it can be too much to take in all at once. When I first left Wonderland, it was hard for me to accept that there was another world out there, a world that wasn't mine.”  
Maybe it was the beauty of the night, the soft brush of the wind on them or the silence of the forest that gave Arthur this feeling of intimacy and made him comfortable, but it became extremely easy to talk.  
  
Merlin told Arthur how he had always lived in Wonderland, how he didn't remember anything else despite being sure that he hadn't been born there.  
“My first memories, I was already old... I mean, I wasn't a new-born. But Neverland is my home, I couldn't leave it, not ever.”  
“I never felt at home in my father's house, even less since Morgana left. I still... She was the one who read your stories, every night. We weren't supposed to, but it was our only moment of freedom. The only one we allowed ourselves to have.”  
Merlin listened carefully, nodding from time to time until Arthur finished talking.  
They stayed silent for a while, looking at the stars. It was really peaceful and filled Arthur's heart with contentment.  
  
“How is it...?” Merlin whispered.  
“What?” Arthur almost didn't hear Merlin speaking.  
“To have a father.”  
“Oh. Well.” Arthur scratched the back of his neck, and gazed at Merlin. “My father... is not very typical. We don't have the best relationship.” He planned to stop here, but Merlin looked at him with so much curiosity it was hard to resist.  
  
So Arthur explained. He talked about his father and all the rules he had dictated since Arthur could walk and talk. He told Merlin about how Uther was against his choices for his studies, how he made sure that Arthur would be a good heir for his enterprise before being a good son. How he knew that Uther still loved him but that he was blinded by his expectation of a perfect son, how he wouldn't allow Arthur to be his own man. It was so easy to tell Merlin all that, it seemed so natural and it felt so good, it made him feel free.  
  
At some point, Arthur grew sleepy again. His eyelids were heavy, and he had to hold onto Merlin so he wouldn't fall. They'd been silent for a while and the humming of the wind was like a lullaby.  
"Sleep," he mumbled, before closing his eyes and resting with all his weight on Merlin. Merlin was strangely comfortable. Who would have guessed with how bony he looked!  
“Arthur, come on, I can't carry you on my own! You're heavy!”  
Arthur tried to open his eyes but they were so heavy and it was difficult . He vaguely felt Merlin's arms around his chest, Merlin making him stand up, getting him off the branch they were sitting on, and guiding him in the air toward the entrance of the tree-house. Arthur's mind was already too near the world of dreams to really grasp what Merlin was doing, how he was holding Arthur close to him to make sure he didn't fall. Arthur just thought about how it was comfortable and warm and putting his arms around Merlin's chest and holding him was suddenly a good idea, so he did it.  
“Arthur!” Merlin whispers. They're almost there now, to Arthur's new bed. The lost boys are still sleeping around them, all of them snoring. If Arthur had been more awake, he would have laughed. But Arthur was nearly asleep, and he was still holding Merlin firmly. When Merlin put him in the bed – like a child, but with Arthur being bigger than him it probably looked ridiculous but Arthur didn't let go. He didn't hear Merlin sighing, then crawling under the cover next to Arthur, trying not to wake him up, and settling there.  
  
Arthur's dreams that night were filled with light and warmth and a feeling of peace and belonging that made him smile.  


	6. 6.

When Arthur woke up, he didn't open his eyes immediately, instead savoured the strange but comfortable warmth against him. He was confused at first, not remembering his bed to be so soft and... moving. The source of the warmth next to him was moving, and for a moment while still half-asleep, Arthur clung to it, shivering with the sudden brisk of fresh air on his skin. Then, he opened his eyes and found himself facing Merlin. Merlin's eyes were open, and he was smiling stupidly.

 

“You slept well?” Merlin asked.

 

“I-- I...” Arthur gasped. He was hugging Merlin. His arms and legs were tangled with Merlin's and together they looked like a sort of giant octopus. Considering their position, Arthur guessed that they'd slept together all night.

 

Arthur opened his mouth, and closed it, and opened it again, feeling the blush burning his cheek.

“I...”

 

“Arthur, if you don't take your arm off me, I can't get out and you can't either, and we can't have breakfast.” Merlin said fondly.

 

Only then Arthur became conscious of the sweet smell of fresh fruit and toast. He quickly took his arm off Merlin's chest and the other boy jumped out of the bed. Arthur rolled on his back and took a deep breath. That was definitely the most embarrassing morning of his life! But he had slept well, he had to admit that. He felt rested, his body wasn't sore and aching like he had expected it to be after the last day's adventures.

 

“Arthur, you better get out now before there's nothing left to eat!” Merlin's voice called from where the sweet smells seemed to be coming.

 

Slowly, he got out of the bed, making sure not to hit his head on the cavity's ceiling, before jumping on the ground ungraciously. The warmth of the bed – and of Merlin, but he wasn't going to think about that because he was still too embarrassed – had been comfortable, but the fresh air was really, really nice and Arthur stayed still for a minute, simply taking deep breathes and savouring the moment. The sun was shining brightly through the tree's entrance, and everything promised to be a beautiful day.

 

So Arthur was smiling when he sat down with all the other boys around a big basket of fruit and what looked like burned toast. When he saw the toast, his smile faded.

 

“What the hell is that?” He asked, looking disapprovingly at the completely black bread. “Is that supposed to be food?”

 

“Can't you see it's toast?” Gwaine asked, raising an eyebrow.

 

“I don't call _that_ toast. What have you done with it? You put it directly in the fire?”

 

There was a short silence before Leon said “Yes?” He sounded uncertain, and was carefully looking away from Arthur.

 

“Oh my god, I was being sarcastic! You really did! How do even... I can't imagine that... Oh crap. Look, I'll show you how to toast bread properly. This is a necessary skill to survive in the wild, I don't know how you're still alive.”

 

Arthur forced the boys to stand up and to follow him to the fireplace where he showed them how not to burn the food. The all looked with deep attention, sometimes commenting with “Oh, this explain so much!” or “That's why it was so disgusting!”, and Merlin was floating above them, laughing softly.

After that, they settled back on the floor in the middle of the living room and finished their breakfast, talking avidly about food and sweets, explaining to Arthur that most of their food came from the village at the other side of the island, that they got it in exchange of their protection. When the meal finished, Arthur was not even thinking about how he had sworn that Neverland wasn't real and that he was supposed to wake up in his bed in his father's house. At the instant, he just felt too relaxed to care.

 

They sang while cleaning. Arthur hadn't expected it, it just came, slowly, first a rhythm, a humming, and then Gwaine started mumbling words, and before he knew it, they were all singing happily, silly songs about food and adventures and magic and dreams that Arthur kind of remembered from his early childhood, when such songs were allowed in the Pendragon household.

 

They sang about knights while doing the dishes, the forks clinking like swords, the boys jumping everywhere, making a new mess while cleaning the previous one. But it was fun, and Arthur, hadn't dared to help because it felt like he would interrupt something, their usual morning ritual or something like that. It was a shame because he was very good at cleaning and tidying up. He thought that maybe the next morning, he could offer his help. Maybe.

 

Anyway, they were singing happily – really mostly about food – and in the blink of an eye, all the rest of food had disappeared and the plates and forks they had used were shining clean in what looked like a sink (or was it a bucket? In any case, it was full of water.) and the boys were back in sitting positions exactly where they had been during breakfast.

 

They had fallen silent. Arthur had some idea of what they were going to say but didn't dare speak, or even move. The stillness was impressive after the noise and fun earlier. All eyes were fixed on Merlin when he finally sat down with them.

 

“So, we need a plan,” Merlin said firmly. The seriousness on all the boys' faces was kind of weird for Arthur. They had all seemed so joyful and innocent and happy and absolutely, totally foolish and careless so he hadn't expected to see that expression on them. Arthur felt the pressure flowing on his shoulder again, the memory of Morgana, the hurt coming back with a violent ache in his stomach. And he remembered that girl who had been kidnapped.

 

“Yes, we do! So, any idea?” Gwaine said

 

“We lead an attack from the sky!”

 

“No, no! We ask the mermaids...”

 

“God no, I don't want to be in the water with them, they'll eat us alive!”

 

“Well, Gwaine, I've noticed how Elena looks at you like...”

 

“Perce!”

 

“Boys, we don't care if Gwaine got himself a mermaid-girlfriend or whatever! My sister has been kidnapped, remember?”

 

“Don't worry Elyan, we will save Gwen.”

 

“Oh, Lancelot has a crush on Elyan's sister!”

 

“Gwaine!”

 

“And to think that I thought for a moment that they were capable of being serious in face of danger. I was really foolish, wasn't I?” Arthur had moved and was now sitting next to Merlin, observing the lost boys and exchanging desperate looks with Merlin and Leon who were trying to put some order into the conversation.

 

“It usually works,” Merlin said. “The loudest one win and we follow his plan... Which in general is just “attacking”.”

 

“Seriously? I understand less and less how you are all still ali--”

 

“I AM NOT USING A DOLPHIN AS A BOAT!”

 

Elyan's scream made Arthur jump and before he could process what was being said, Arthur was on his feet and yelling louder than all of them. “Stop! STOP! Enough!”

 

They all went immediately silent and looked at the ground guiltily.

 

Arthur put his hand on his hips and took a deep breath before speaking. His voice was firm and clear; he knew he needed to sound confident, when he needed people to listen to him, like when he helped the youngest kids in his fencing class - althoughhe couldn't help thinking of how much he sounded like his father.

 

“Listen to me. Elyan's sister has been kidnapped. We want to save her. There's several things we have to take into count if we want to manage that. First, we're vastly outnumbered, it's our main disadvantage. Which is why we need a clear, precise plan. Now, to do that, we need a map, do you have such thing?”

 

Leon nodded, and finally, at everyone's relief, it looked like they could get things done.

 

It took them less than an hour to make a good, simple plan. Arthur was the one with the first idea, but they continuously refined it in order to put all their knowledge to use. When they finished, they were all sighing with contentment. Arthur let them have ten minutes to get ready to leave. There wasn't anymore time to lose.

 

It has been decided that they needed to talk to Elyan and Gwen's tribe. Arthur, who was already thrilled by the adventure, was even more curious about the tribe and their way of life. They seemed peaceful, close to the nature and just really nice. Or so he guessed from what the others told him.

 

He had only seen the village from afar and heard what he guessed was music coming from deep in the forest. But Elyan was really nice, and Gwen looked nice too – she probably looked nicer when she wasn't so angry and terrified and tied up – so Arthur really couldn't wait to meet the other villagers.

 

So, Arthur was in a rather good mood and feeling quite hopeful when they left the tree-house. He had no doubts that the villagers would help them to retrieve one of their own from the pirates, and he had a plan to confront Morgana. It was simple, clear, and there was no reason for it to go wrong.

 

So of course it went wrong, really, _really_ wrong.

 

The first thing was Merlin. Arthur had noticed that he had been very quiet since breakfast, and in the forest, as they walked, he was always several steps behind them and completely silent, answering the one who talked to him with a nod or a hmm.

 

Arthur guessed that he was worried about Gwen. He tried to ask Gwaine discretely, but the only answer he got was “oh don't worry, he does that sometimes.” He didn't like that at all. If Merlin wasn't cooperating, the plan wouldn't work.

 

Merlin disappeared when their second problem appeared. The forest suddenly became darker, colder and more dense. They didn't notice immediately, nor did they notice Merlin's absence. They were all quiet, and it's Elyan who broke the silence after a shiver.

 

“Is it me or is it getting dark?”

 

“What are you saying, it's still morning...” Gwaine replied.

 

“ No,” Leon said after a moment. “Gwaine, it really is dark. Merlin?”

 

There was no answer.

 

“Merlin?” They all repeated, turning around to search for the boy.

 

Merlin wasn't there. Arthur worried that he could have been kidnapped or maybe he left on his own, but they didn't know and that was the problem.

 

“Stop moving,” he whispered, the tone of his voice harsh. The Lost boys stopped in their movements.

 

“What?” Elyan asked, eyebrows raised.

 

“He's obviously not here. If he's been kidnapped, it means we are not safe and we have to be careful. This forest is weird.”

 

“I don't remember seeing this kind of tree around here,” Percival said.

 

“Yes,” Lancelot added. “Something isn't right. But Merlin can't have been kidnapped. He's too wily for that.”

 

“It would be more like him to just leave,” Gwaine said.

 

Arthur's eyes widened. "Do you mean that it wouldn't be the first time he did that?" “Oh no!” Elyan answered. “He disappears all the time!”

 

“What? What an idiot! Does he have no self-preservation?” Arthur blurted out. Merlin was going to ruin their plans! Was he such a coward that he didn't even want to face the people that were supposed to be his allies? And to think that he had started to... to what exactly? To believe in Merlin? Whatever it was, Arthur wasn't going to admit it out loud.

 

He got lost in his thought a little more, trying to adapt their – his, really – plan now that Merlin was nowhere to be seen, which is why it took him a while to realize that he was alone and surrounded by tree. Or more precisely, trapped by trees. Big, black, menacing trees, only a few centimetres away from him. And he was pretty sure he hadn't moved so...

 

“Arthur!” A scream came from behind the trees and Arthur didn't have the time to turn around before the tree _moved_ and fell on him.

 

Arthur blinked. Everything was blur and dark and his head hurt! What had he done to... Oh. OH! For a moment he had expected to wake up in his bedroom in his father's house, and then, it all came back in a flash. Merlin, Neverland, the Lost boys, and then Merlin's disappearance and the fucking moving trees!

 

“Arthur! Arthur!”

 

“He's awake!”

 

Arthur opened his eyes to find five faces staring at him with worried expressions. He blinked several times, trying to make the blurriness go away.

 

“Lance?” he whispered; the boy's face was the first he clearly recognized.

 

“Oh, thanks god! Are you all right?”

 

“My head...” Arthur said as he passed his hand on his head, where it hurt. He gasped, “Am I... Am I _bleeding_?”

 

“You are?” That was Gwaine who sounded absolutely scandalized. “Those bastards!”

 

“Who?” Arthur asked, confused. “Guys, what happened?” He sat up, slowly realizing where he was and who was with him.

 

It was dark around them. They were inside... A cabin? A tent? He didn't know, but it wasn't a house, or a tree like the Lost boys' one. There was a small opening at the top of the thing, and he could see that it was still light outside. The top was really high, and small, and as Arthur touched the walls, he struck him that it wasn't a classical tent. It was a teepee.

 

“We're in the village, aren't we?” he sighed before anyone could answer. They all nodded.

Arthur sat up straighter and the lost boys went and sat in a circle next to him. It was hard to see in the darkness, but Arthur could notice that they all looked tired, and maybe a bit beaten up.

 

“What happened?” He repeated. Now that his eyes were used to the dark, he could see that they actually looked kind of... embarrassed?

 

Then, they all started talking at the same time.

“We're sorry!” “We really are!” “We couldn't have known...” “It was unexpected!” “The villagers...” “Wouldn't let us talk--” “- took us by surprise!” “Sorry for the blow on your head!” “-- all our fault -” “No but really, we're sorr--”

 

“Fine! I get it! Stop!” Arthur yelled, making the other boys shut up by doing so. When he was sure that they had calmed down, he said “You're sorry, fine. Now I'd like to know why. Lancelot?” Arthur starred at him, frowning. Whatever mess they were in, they had to get out of it. They had already lost enough time.

 

“The villagers... We call them the natives, they were always here you see. Well, they're the ones who attacked us. They think we're the ones who captured Gwen.” His voice shook as he said the girl's name.

 

“And it's so stupid! Elyan was with us, we wouldn't kidnap his own sister!” Gwaine added.

 

It took a second for Arthur to realize that, talking about Elyan, he was nowhere to be seen. Apparently, Leon had guessed that they would talk about Elyan so, before Arthur could ask, he said, “Don't bother, they took him somewhere else. I think they think that we enchanted him or something.”

 

Arthur's eyes widened. “But... you're supposed to be friends with them, right?” Arthur asked hesitantly. “They were supposed to help.”

 

There was a heavy silence then.

 

“They watched the Pirates.” Percival whispered. “They say they have no reason to suspect them.”

 

“And now with Merlin's gone, they think he's guarding Gwen.” Leon added.

 

Arthur rubbed his forehead with his fingers, frowning and mumbling. The lost boys moved closer to him to try to understand what he was saying, careful not to make any sound or make any sudden movements in order not to break his concentration.

 

They all stumbled and fell on their arses when Arthur stood up abruptly. If they hadn't been in the situation they were, Arthur would have laughed, but as he constantly repeated to himself, they had no time to lose. He walked toward what seemed to be the entrance of the teepee and called, “I want to speak to the chief!”

 

A voice answered almost immediately. It was cold and harsh, definitely not friendly.

“The chief is busy and doesn't have time to converse with criminals.”

 

Arthur snorted. Really?

“If the chief wants his daughter back, he will listen to me.”

Arthur heard a gasp. Perfect.

 

The entrance opened several minutes later – way too late in Arthur's opinion – on a man that Arthur guessed was the chief, but only because he was holding a carved wooden stick and was holding himself straighter than the men following him. He was dressed casually, and looked quite surprisingly normal. Arthur had expected a crown, or a cape, or maybe just more gold, something that screamed power and wealth. If those villagers truly were the first inhabitants of Neverland, why weren't they acting like such, and claiming and controlling their land like in any other place? But again, Neverland wasn't any other place, and Arthur's surprise disappeared as fast as it had come.

 

“Who are you, boy?” The man's voice was soft and calm, and Arthur couldn't hear any animosity in it. He allowed himself to relax a bit.

 

“My name is Arthur. I have been brought here by Merlin only yesterday.”

 

“Someone, bring light in here!” The man's called. Immediately, a woman entered the teepee with a candle that she set on fire before leaving quickly. The man sat up on the ground, immediately followed by the men who accompanied him and Arthur settled next to the Lost boys. Then, Arthur was invited to speak.

 

It's only hours later, after long conversations and debates, after they started eating, and the music became louder, and the dancers moved and everyone laughed and took some well-deserved rest that Arthur allowed his mind to drift from the new plan to save Gwen to Merlin. He still wasn't back. He didn't understood why everyone kept assuring him that Merlin was fine, when it was obvious that something was wrong.

 

The whole village was arranged in a big circle. In the middle, there was a firepit and beside it were fruits that Arthur had never seen before, of all sizes, shapes and colours.

 

The chief of the village made a short speech to explain the situation to everyone and offered his apologies for how Arthur and the lost boys had been treated, and now it was like nothing had happened and their friendship was like new. Arthur wanted to go out and save Gwen as soon as they had finished talking in the teepee, and the only thing that convinced him to wait _again_ was when the chief had said, quite firmly, “You will be no use if you're tired and your stomach is empty.”

 

But, now that they had been feasting for much longer than it should, Arthur was starting to feel his patience going from small to non-existent.

 

There was a girl who kept bringing him food even though he still had more than he could eat in a week and who was desperately trying to start a conversation with him, and who, worse of all, kept touching him – putting a hand on his shoulder, discretely caressing his hand – and who Arthur couldn't get a rid off to go and put some pressure on the chief.

 

The girl was apparently oblivious at Arthur's lack of flirting back. She was nice, but Merlin had disappeared and he couldn't care less. He gave a quick look at the Lost boys several time in hope that they would be as worried, for Gwen, not Merlin of course, as him; but he found them busy with other girls and boys from the village. And Arthur was so tired, and angry, and he just wanted to punch everyone and tell them to move their arses and go and save Gwen and find Merlin and Morgana and just DO SOMETHING.

 

He couldn't remember if they've been sitting here for ten minutes or ten hours but however long it had been, it was too long. Finally, he grabbed the girl's wrist and whispered in his sweetest, most languorous voice.

“Can you bring me a glass of that drink everyone's been drinking please?”

 

The girl blushed and tried to look away from Arthur's eyes, but she was smiling. Arthur would feel guilty about that later.

 

“Y-yes! Of course!” She stammered, and went away.

 

As soon as she turned her back on him, Arthur jumped to his feet and disappeared behind the closest teepee.

 

* * *

 

 

Merlin hadn't planned to save Gwen by himself, he really hadn't. He had just wanted some quiet, some time to think by himself. If he had found the pirates boat hovering toward the creepiest rock that existed, and if he had happened to notice that Gwen was on that ship, then it was all chance. And Gwen was his friend, and his friend's sister, and the native village's princess and if he could sneak up a little bit closer to find more information and help the actual saving mission, then who would blame him for sneaking away from the group? He definitely couldn't have planned that the only entrance to the rock would be guarded by pirates and that it would take so long to get rid of them.

 

The rock was more like a small island of its own than an actual rock, except for the fact that it was made only of rock. It was rather close to the island of Neverland, but surrounded by water. It was empty, the inside being a single huge cave half filled with water. That's where the pirates, Gwen and Merlin were.

 

Gwen was still tied up, but she didn't look hurt which was a big relief for Merlin. He wouldn't be able to forgive himself if she had been. He was already feeling bad for waiting the whole night, especially now that the plan they had worked on was ruined.

 

And he hoped Arthur wouldn't worry. He knew the lost boys wouldn't, they were used to him disappearing like that, but Arthur didn't know him well yet and... actually, he wasn't sure if he was worried that Arthur would worry when there was obviously no reason to or if he just wanted Arthur to worry about him. It seemed nice, having someone to do that for you. But he wasn't going to know what Arthur was thinking anytime soon and he had a princess to save.

 

From the hiding place, a small hole behind a rock and the ceiling of the cave, he could see almost everything. In the middle of the cave, on the small boat they had seen the day before, was Gwen, still tied up. She was looking fiercely at Morgana, who was turned toward another woman.

 

Merlin knew that woman of course, how couldn't he? But she still scared him more than anyone else. She wore a giant hat covered in feathers and jewels, and a huge, dark-red velveteen coat, under which she wore elegant but comfortable pants - better for fighting than a dress, of course.

 

Compared to Morgana, the other woman was dressed poorly, but no one could mistake her for a simple subordinate. The way she held herself screamed strength and power. Morgana, however, in a beautiful green dress, looked more like a princess than a pirate. But Merlin knew not to be fooled by appearances.

 

“Morgause...” he whispered between his teeth.

 

He turned his head toward the entrance of the cave to verify the identity of the man that was guarding it.“And Cenred, of course.”

 

Cenred was everything a pirate should be. He was made of pure cruelty and never enjoyed himself more than when he hurt other people. He craved power and Morgause's... not love, because neither of them was capable of feeling such thing, or respect because Morgause wouldn't ever respect anyone else, but maybe something other than disdain. He did everything he could to please the woman, even if he failed most of the time (thanks to Merlin, mostly).

 

Merlin knew them all too well and was certain that he didn't stand a chance against the three of them if they had to fight. Plus, he couldn't risk hurting Gwen.

 

“You know it's useless! Even if you don't tell us anything, he'll come for you.” Morgana's voice resonated against the walls of the cave. “And you're going to die anyway.” She laughed.

 

Gwen kept starring at her, defiant and oh so strong. Everyone would be so proud of her once she was safe and this mess was all over.

 

“I have nothing to tell you. I don't care what you think he'll do. You're wrong, Morgana, again and again, you keep being wrong.” She said, her voice soft and not shaking a bit.

 

“Ah, you keep telling yourself that, Gwen.” Morgana bent down, putting her face right in front of Gwen's. “I thought you were more clever than that...” She brushed her thumb on Gwen's cheek. Gwen didn't move. “My poor, poor princess... Where is the knight in shining armour who'll save you now?”

 

They looked into each other's eyes, not blinking, and Merlin could feel the hate and disdain emanating from them. God. They'd been friends once, he remembered...

 

Morgana finally moved away, her nail scratching Gwen's cheek in the process. She laughed, but it sounded hollow.

“I really did like you, Gwen. But you chose your side. Now, Morgause? How long are we going to have to wait again?”

 

“Not too long, hopefully,” Morgause said after a brief silence. “I expected them to wait for morning, but it's already mid afternoon. Whatever happened, they should have noticed her absence now, and we let them enough of a trail to find us here.”

 

“You still think Merlin will come alone?” Morgana asked.

 

“Oh, yes! He wouldn't risk his friends' lives! He always cared too much for his own good, poor boy.” She burst out laughing and it was all Merlin could do not to jump out of his hiding place right then and there and hit her. What he managed to do, however, was doing something much more discreet and effective.

 

Imitating voices had always been one of Merlin's favourite hobbies. At first, it had just been about copying birds' chirping, then about playing with his friends, and later he found it to be a rather useful talent, especially against a man as stupid as Cenred.

 

How Merlin did it was a mystery to everyone else. Only Merlin knew how much was hard work, how much was talent and how much was magic, but everyone knew that it was almost impossible not to be fooled by it. Cenred, no matter how many times he did it to him, was _always_ fooled by it. So, of course, now was no exception.

 

“Cenred!” Merlin called in Morgause's voice. He had silently moved to behind a rock closer to the man, so as not to be seen by any of the pirates. “What are you still doing here?”

 

“What?” Cenred exclaimed, looking around in search for the woman.

 

“I'm still inside, you idiot! But I saw movement from where I stand. How could you not notice it? Do you want to get us killed?”

 

Cenred's face fell and it was hard not to laugh.

“Of course my lady! Excuse my inattention!” Cenred took his two swords off his belt and brandished them in front of him. He started walking away from the entrance and toward a small crypt where everyone except him apparently knew the crocodile lived. It was getting harder not to laugh, especially when Cenred screamed as he caught sight of the creature.

 

Inside the cave, Morgause immediately reacted.

“What the hell is that moron doing?” she said between her teeth. She turned toward Morgana. “I'm going to see. Don't move and don't let that girl do anything.”

 

Morgana simply nodded and Morgause jumped out of the boat where they stood and walked away on the slippery rocks. Meanwhile, Merlin had come back to his first hiding place where he could make sure that Morgause had left the cave.

 

Now was his chance. He only had a few minutes before Morgause came back with Cenred. Hopefully, every single pirate was afraid of the crocodile. After all, it had eaten part of each of them, and it was a curious creature that liked tasting new things as much as eating the same one again.

 

Morgana was facing Gwen, so she didn't saw Merlin when he came from behind the rock and floated silently toward her. He saw Gwen's eyes widen as she noticed him, but made a small movement to tell her not to show anything. Surprise was his only advantage here.

 

He took out his small knife from his belt. Despite not liking weapons, having one become a necessity with the pirates, and it was always useful in the wild.

 

Silently, he put the tip of the blade against Morgana's throat.

“Don't move. Don't make a sound,” he whispered in her ear.

 

She went still, not even blinking.

 

“I'm going to free Gwen and leave. If you try anything...”

 

But he couldn't finish his sentence because Gwen screamed, “Merlin!”

 

He felt the brush of a blade against his cheek just as he stepped away. Behind him, with a sword in her hand, Morgause was smiling proudly.

 

“Merlin, Merlin, my dear Merlin!” she said . “We've been waiting for you!”

 

Merlin who was now floating above her, out of her reach, only frowned. Talking was useless with Morgause; she stopped listening to reason a long time ago. He gave a quick look at the entrance of the cave to see Cenred back where he had first been, looking hurt and ashamed, but swords in his hands, ready to attack.

 

Surprisingly, Morgause put her sword back in its holder and her smile widened (which actually was more scary than anything else.).

 

“Let's be clear. I'm proposing a deal. We'll free dear little princess Gwen here if you stay with us.”

 

“Merlin, no!”

That was Gwen, dear strong and fierce Gwen. God, how Merlin could ever let her fall in the hands of those monsters. It was his responsibility to protect the island.

 

“Fine,” he muttered.

 

“Merlin!” Gwen sounded scandalized. But she didn't fight when Morgana went to untie her. Merlin smiled at her, trying to sound reassuring. He was going to get them both out of here, unarmed and safe.

 

* * *

 

 

Arthur was lost. Of course he was lost. How stupid he had been to think that he could ever find his way in the hell of a forest alone! He had spent less than a day here and everything looked the same. So much green...

 

It took him half an hour to find a way to guide himself through the wild. He had been walking in circle for a while when he first caught the scent of the sea. It was faint but there and clearly came from his right. He couldn't help but smile then, and started walking with determination toward the water. There, he would be able to 1) see where we was going and 2) fucking see where he was going! And maybe catch sight of Merlin, wherever he was.

 

Arthur had to admit, he was worried. Not about Merlin of course, oh no, why would he worry about this useless, foolish, selfish boy who showed him everything he always dreamt of and offered him the freedom he thought he could never have? But without Merlin, he would be stuck in Neverland, right? And if it annoyed him, it wasn't because being stuck here _without Merlin_ would suck. And anyway, everyone was so nice with him, he would worry about them as he worried for Merlin. If they were all naïve enough to think that he and Gwen wouldn't be in more danger every minute they waited, it was their problem.

 

Arthur wasn't going to let them down. A Pendragon would always do whatever it took to pay his debts.

 

He was shaken out of his thoughts by a lovely melody coming from the shore. He could see the sea now, and the beginnings of the beach. He turned around, trying to see where the song came from when he heard a splash of water. It was only a small surprise to see the mermaids coming toward him then.

 

“Oh dear! Isn't that our lovely guest?” one of them said (What was her name already? Sophia something...).

 

“Yes! Lovely guest! Come here, come closer!” said another as Arthur took a careful step in their direction.

 

“Are you lost, sweetie? Need some help?” A third voice said.

 

Immediately, another added, “Come with us, wherever you're going, we can show you the way.”

 

Their voices were soft, and their eyes were all blue and transparent like the water they were swimming in. Their hair and, their skin shone in the sunlight, and it was such a sight Arthur was breathless for a second.

 

Then, the moment was broken as he heard a bird cry inthe forest. Arthur blinked several time and looked at the mermaids again. They looked... hungry. He took a step back.

 

“Where are you going, darling?” It was the first one who had talked again. Her eyes were now shining red and it was one of the scariest things Arthur had ever seen. He could feel her eyes devouring him.

 

He was standing on a rock, just where the latest waves hit and where the mermaids couldn't reach him but were still close enough to hear him talk. He tried not to sound uneasy.

 

“I'm searching for Merlin. Have you seen him?”

 

“Merlin?” The brunette mermaid answered, “Why would you want to see Merlin when you can spend time with us?”

 

“Yes! We will take better care of you than Merlin could ever do!” said the blond one.

 

The other blond one, with curls, whispered, “We know tricks... We could show you pleasure that you had no idea existed.” Her languorous tone made Arthur take another step away. God, he had to get out of there, and soon!

 

“Listen, ladies,” he finally said, his voice loud and clear. “You are very lovely and I am flattered by your attentions, but Merlin and Gwen are in danger and if you can not help me, I will have to leave you for now. I promise to pay you a visit soon, if that can reassure you.”

 

And on those words, before the mermaids could say anything else, he bowed and stepped away.

 

He made sure to stay away from the sea for a while, but not to lose its sight. He'd been walking for fifteen minutes and had seen or heard nothing, which was starting to worry him quite a lot. What if he had been walking in the wrong direction all this time? But how could he know where to go? He was so stubborn sometimes he wondered how he had been able to survive (almost) on his own all these years.

 

When he was almost decided to take a break and sit to think about what to do next, a soft voice echoed in the air. He was immediately on his guard. “Not these bloody mermaids again!” Exasperated, he whispered, “Can't they leave me in peace for a minute?”

 

“Arthur?” The voice became clearer, and it was soft like the mermaid's, but it sounded... worried, and scared.

 

“Who is here?”

 

“Come to the sea. Please, Arthur! I can help you!” The voice was shaking and it was all Arthur could do not to run to it. He took several deep breaths before walking slowly toward where it came from. When he was only a meter away from the water, he noticed the dark-haired mermaid hiding behind a small rock.

 

Before he could think better of it, Arthur asked, “Who are you? I haven't seen you with the other mermaids.”

 

The girl laughed. “Oh I was there, only I didn't make myself noticeable to you.”

 

Arthur raised an eyebrow, confused.

 

“But we don't have time, Arthur listen to me. I've seen Merlin--”

 

“You did? When? Where? Where is he now?”

 

“Quieter!” The mermaid whispered. Arthur jumped in surprise because she was now at his feet, and he didn't even see her move. “I don't have much time. They'll notice I'm gone, and they'll find you!”

 

“Who?”

 

“Everyone!”

 

Arthur swallowed. She was right, he didn't have time.“Tell me everything you know,” he said, voice calm and decided.

 

The mermaid breathed with relief.“I caught glimpse of him when he was following the pirates... He told me not to warn anyone, that there was no need to worry but he's still not back! They're in the skull rock! You'll recognize it when you see it. But be careful, he's not alone there.”

 

Arthur nodded.

“How do I get there?”

 

“Oh dear, I can't believe you're asking that! By flying of course!”

 

 _Of course_... Arthur thought bitterly. He wasn't sure he was still able to fly.

 

“Go now!” She made a vague gesture with her hand to tell him to go. “And know that I'm certainly not doing this to help you. It's for Merlin, who I own a debt I could never repay.”

 

“Wait!” Arthur remembered just as he was leaving. “What's your name?”

 

“It's Freya.” She smiled, and her smile warmed Arthur's heart and gave him the courage he needed to move. “Now GO!”

 

* * *

 

 

The clanking of metal echoed against the wall of the cave where Merlin, Morgause and Morgana were fighting. Only Merlin was able to fly and that was probably the only thing that saved him from the deadly swords of the two pirates. His small knife was ridiculous in comparison of their sharp swords. Hopefully for him, they were confident enough to leave Cenred out of it. He was still guarding the entrance to make sure that no reinforcements came, Merlin guessed. Not that any would, because no one knew he was there after, except Freya, but who would think of asking her? She hid from everyone, always ashamed of her appearance that she thought not perfect enough like her sisters.

 

“What are you trying to do, Merlin?” Morgause screamed. “You've already lost!”

 

“I haven't lost until I'm dead!” He replied, still daring to provoke her although he saw his chances of getting away diminishing with each second that passed. “Am I dead? I don't think so! Or I'm a very living kind of dead.” He laughed, trying not to sound too bitter.

 

“You must--” Morgana tried to say, but she was breathless, moving her heavy sword in the air desperately. “You must give back….”

 

“I have nothing to give to any of you!”

 

“… what is rightfully ours!”

 

“Ah!” Merlin lost his balance as her blade cut him on the arm. He jumped in the air, floating dangerously several meters above their heads, holding his hand over the new bleeding wound. _Fuck, no..._

 

Suddenly, a huge sound of metal clanking and of a body hitting the ground resonated and everyone turned their head toward Cenred who was on the ground, hands on his stomach, wincing in pain as Arthur stood in front of him, at small rock in his hand, looking breathless and wide-eyed.

 

* * *

 

 

“Merlin!” Arthur yelled. Merlin was bleeding. Oh god, why was Merlin bleeding? Was he too late? He threw a quick look at Gwen. His shaking voice had apparently been enough to convince her of his side. She smiled and nodded.

 

Morgana had fallen silent. She wasn't moving now, her sword fell from her hand and hit the ground with a loud metallic noise, but she didn't stoop to pick it back. She stared at Arthur, and Arthur stared back at her, but only for a moment, because Merlin was flying toward him and Gwen had got out of her ropes and plunged in the water. It was obvious that she lived in Neverland all her life because she broke all the records for swimming and was on the same rock as Arthur in a few seconds.

 

“Morgana?” It was Morgause who spoke, voice small and worried. “Morgana, what's wrong?”

 

Morgana opened her mouth, but not a sound came out. Arthur, on the contrary, sealed his lips and looked at her with a piercing gaze. _I know you Morgana_ , he was trying to say, _I know you wouldn't hurt anyone, especially not Merlin. Not me._

 

Finally, Merlin was in front of Arthur and they could leave. They didn't lose any time. Arthur grabbed Merlin and Gwen and before anyone could say a word, they were in the sky and flying far away from that doomed skull rock, leaving the pirate trio behind them.

 

* * *

 

 

The three pirates stayed inside the cave for a while after their enemies' departure. Or were they really? Morgana couldn't believe it, because it simply couldn't be possible. Arthur had nothing to do with Neverland! No reason to be there! It was an illusion, a trick created by Merlin to mislead her again! The ground was shaking beneath her feet and... No, it was her who was shaking.

 

“Sister...” Morgause called. Slowly, carefully, Morgana turned her head toward the woman. She was holding her hand in hers, and smiling sweetly. Morgana took a deep breath and whispered.

“I...” Then, her knees gave up and she collapsed on the ground. Morgause fell with her, but eased it by enfolding her shoulders with her arms. Morgause hugged Morgana tightly, and only then did Morganaallow herself to cling to the woman and to cry.  


	7. 7.

Arthur had been so wrong when he thought that the lunch in the native tribe's village was a party because it was _nothing_ compared to the party they were currently giving.

They were sitting in the same place they had been earlier, in a big circle, surrounded by teepees, except there was now a huge fire in the middle that lit the whole village now that the sun had set. There was twice as much food, and most importantly, there was music. Arthur had never heard this kind of music before, or even seen the instruments, but it was strangely entraining. 

And finally, there was the drink they kept being served since the meal had started. What exactly was in that drink was a mystery to Arthur, but he was pretty sure kids weren't supposed to drink it. He hadn't touched his cup since the beginning of the meal, but it was easy to notice how excited and light-headed everyone seemed to be. People were dancing and singing and they were all so happy it kind of enraged Arthur. How did they dare be happy when his sister was with the pirates and his whole world had been broken and he had no idea what the hell was happening at all?

But the worst of this party was, without a doubt, the girls that kept harassing him. They all sat around him and hadn't stop asking him personal questions since the food arrived. And despite Arthur's brief answers and vicious glares, they just kept smiling and batting their eyelashes at him.

Gwaine, on the other hand, seemed to enjoy himself a lot, with lots of very cute girls attached to his arms. But Arthur couldn't help but notice how his attention was always turned on Percival. They looked like they were having the most interesting conversation but it was obviously not about Arthur's current problems so he didn't care.

He turned his head and saw Gwen, who after spending a long time with her father, had been able to go and sit next to Lancelot. The way they looked at each other could only be described as _smitten_ and Arthur thought that he would find it annoying even without all his current problems. Looking that smitten with someone shouldn't be allowed except in storybooks.

 

And then, there was Merlin, who was sitting as far away from Arthur as possible and who seemed to be in a deep, very serious conversation with the chief of the village. At least Arthur thought so until he saw both of them burst out laughing. God, why? They were all useless and no one seemed to notice that Arthur was having a nervous break down here, thank you very much.

What enraged him the most actually was Merlin apparent lack of consideration for Arthur's state. After all Merlin had been the one to bring him here, he had to face the consequences... right? In any case, he seemed to be the only person who could answer all his questions or at least the most important question of what the hell was going on.Arthur was going to get his answers soon, even if he had to go against everything he had ever been taught and be ruder than he ever thought possible.

“Excuse me,” he said softly to the three girls, who were still talking to him as he stood up. The girls simply giggled and blushed. 

Then, he went around the circle of people to reach Merlin. When he arrived behind the boy, he coughed several times but when Merlin didn't react, he called, loud enough to be heard, “ _Mer_ lin”.

Both Merlin and the chief jerked in surprise. Merlin turned his head and his eyes widened when he saw that it was Arthur. He still had his mouth open, cut in the middle of a word. Interrupting someone in the middle of a conversation like that was one of the rudest things Arthur had ever done, and for a split second, he was overwhelmed with guilt.

“Arthur!” Merlin said joyfully. “What is it?”

“We need to talk.” Arthur was surprised at how hard those words were to get out.

“Arthur,” Merlin repeated, his tone clearly accusatory, raising an eyebrow. He looked quickly at the chief, probably to make Arthur understand that he was already in a conversation with someone important, which Arthur understood perfectly. He just didn't care.

“Merlin,” Arthur answered on the same tone. He crossed his arms on his chest. Thankfully, while the village chief smiled in kindness, Merlin excused himself and stood up, probably knowing that Arthur had been ready to grab him and force him to go anyway. 

Merlin nodded to Arthur and they walked away for privacy.

 

The village wasn't far from the sea so it took them only a few minutes to arrive at a deserted beach. As soon as they touched the sand, Merlin sat on the ground. Arthur stopped abruptly but did not move.

Merlin sighed.

“What is it Arthur?” he asked, his voice soft, almost... sad?

Arthur didn't know what he had expected but after Merlin's reluctance to come with him, he thought Merlin would be more angry.

Arthur was still angry, he was even furious!

“You know exactly what it is!” he said, not daring to look at Merlin in case it'd make him want to hit him.

“Arthur...” Now, Merlin sounded desperate. “Listen, I'm sorry you're so angry. I can understand that it's all a bit too much and….”

“Too much?” Arthur couldn't help but laugh. He sounded a bit hysterical, but then maybe he was. And Merlin was mocking him, he had to be.... “You think it's just _too much_? My whole world has been turned upside down, but if it was only that... Merlin, you have to tell me what the hell happened with Morgana!”

He finally looked at Merlin. Merlin was staring back at him, his eyes full of sadness. He looked like a kicked puppy and Arthur's heart only ached a little. He didn't meant to be so angry, he didn't want to, he just couldn't help it.

Suddenly, Merlin stood up. He put both hands on Arthur's shoulder, gently, carefully, and whispered, “Sit down.”

Without thinking, Arthur did as he was told and so he found himself sitting on the sand, Merlin next him, hands warm on his shoulders.

 

“Now, breath slowly.” Merlin's voice whispered in his ear. Arthur closed his eyes and breathed.

After a moment, Merlin moved away. Arthur let out a sharp moan at the loss of the comforting warmth and opened his eyes. Merlin was now sitting next to him, arms crossed around his legs, chin resting on his knees.

They stayed like this for several minutes, looking at the horizon, the only clearly audible sound being the sound of the waves.

“So.”

It was Merlin who broke the silence.

“I don't know exactly why Morgana went with the pirates. I have an idea but she didn't tell me. She just left. But she isn't... bad. She's obviously been lied to. Used. That's their way. And I've been trying to get her back, or at least to try to speak with her! But as you've seen, they're trying to get me and it's hard... She doesn't trust me anymore. And I don't know what to do. Now that you're here, maybe she'll hear us?”

That last sentence sounded so hopeful it almost made Arthur smile. But as Merlin spoke, Arthur's anger only grew and when Merlin finished, he was burning inside with hurt and pain and pure, raw rage. That wasn't what he wanted to know, and Merlin knew it. He was only evading the subject.

“ _Mer_ lin,” Arthur simply said.

Merlin sighed like he admitted his defeat.“I used to come to your window, years ago, to listen to Morgana's stories. I... Listen, I'm sorry, I really am. Nothing went as planned. When I asked Morgana to come with me to Neverland, it wasn't supposed to go like that. First I didn't understand why the stories stopped, and then... I couldn't leave Morgana, she was just so sad, you see? So I went to her, and I asked her if she wanted to come, and she said yes but….”

“Wait, you mean...,” Arthur said, but Merlin raised his hand, gesturing to him to stop.

 

He fell silent, and again, it was only the waves for a few minutes.

“Stuff happened. Stuff that took time, lots of time, and time doesn't pass here as it passes in your world and when I came back, it has been so long. I'm so sorry, Arthur, I never meant for you to be alone or at least not to know what happened to your sister. I wouldn't do that to you, not willingly.” Merlin's voice was shaking and Arthur heard him suppress a sob.

“You mean that you knew? All those years, you knew me. Us. And... how could I be so stupid?” He wanted to scream but his voice came out rough and quiet. He let out a sharp laugh . “I just realized that I never told you my name, and yet you know it. I should have known….”

“Arthur, listen, I never wanted to hurt you, if I could have done things differently...” Merlin sounded desperate. He tried to reach for Arthur's arm, but Arthur moved away abruptly.

“Don't touch me! Don't come near me! I can't believe! I...” He jumped on his feet and starred at Merlin, fighting back tears. “I trusted you!”

“Arthur.” Merlin was pleading now, but Arthur didn't hear anything. Everything was burning around him.

“You took Morgana away from me! The only person I could trust, and you took her away! I've been worried sick for years, my father closed himself even more... And then you come and present yourself as a friend, but she left because of you!” . Merlin looked guilty. Arthur stood there, breathless, before turning, and walking away. He didn't hear Merlin move, and didn't turn around to see if he did.

 

It took a long time for Arthur to be aware of his surrounding again. He had been walking for what seemed like hours – and probably was, actually. The sky was darker, still covered in stars, and the air was fresher. The sea was calm and almost silent.

The damp sand under his feet had cooled the fire inside him. He hadn't known where he was going, he didn't care, but now that he was calmer, the fact that he had no idea where he was worried him a little.

Maybe Merlin would worry... No, Merlin wouldn't. He had never cared, not like Arthur thought he would when he believed Merlin was a good person. Merlin had destroyed his world before he even met Arthur. Uther had been right. Fairy tales are useless, evil. God, he had been so naïve!

Taking his time, he walked to the water. He let the waves brush his feet, the wind caress his face... He closed his eyes.

The tears started rolling on his face and he realized that he'd been holding them in all this time.

He wasn't supposed to cry, to show this kind of weakness. He was a Pendragon! But Neverland had reminded him that he was also a child, or more, that he could be a child contrary to what he'd been taught his whole life, and that he was allowed to _feel_. So he opened his eyes and allowed himself to cry.

He was lying on the sand, his legs in the water, his eyes turned toward the sky, when he noticed a change. It was discreet, but everything had so still that Arthur noticed it immediately. The waves were a little bit bigger, the wind a little warmer, and there was a faint burnt smell in the air.

 

He blinked twice before he stretched his arms and sat up. He saw it immediately, the pirate ship, approximately a hundred meters away in the sea. The first thing he did was looking around to find a place to hide, but the beach was huge and absolutely, completely empty of any rock or plant that could protect him from unwanted attention. Then, as he tried to stay calm and not to let panic overwhelm him, he noticed that the ship was continuing on its way and that apparently, no one had seen him. He let out a relieved sigh. He really wasn't in the mood to fight with pirates.

Then, an idea bloomed in his mind.

Morgana was on that ship.

Maybe... Maybe he could see her. Talk with her, get her side of the story. Try to understand.

But going alone was dangerous. They tried to kill Merlin, even if he wasn't who he seemed to be. And they tried to kill Gwen who was definitely nice. But Morgana wouldn't let any harm come to him, he trusted her on that. Now, how to get there...

A small light flickered next to him.

 

Arthur let out a small shriek when the fairy appeared an inch away from his face. Kilgharrah looked rather amused.

“Don't do that again!” Arthur whispered, still careful to be quiet since the pirate ship was still close.

The fairy didn't move so it was Arthur who stepped away. “What do you want?” 

Of course, he didn't understand fairy language so it was a bit useless to ask, but he had a feeling that the creature was used to communicate with people who didn't understand him and that he would find a way to show Arthur why he was here.

The fairy flew around Arthur, examining him. Arthur fought not to brush it away like he would with a fly. It was rather annoying, having such a small creature judging him like it knew things about Arthur that he himself didn't know. Which was probably true, apparently many people here knew more about what had happened in his own life than he did, but that wasn't the point!

“What the hell are you doing? Did you follow me here? If Merlin's here, I really, really don't want to see him right now so he'll have to wait until I don't have an urgent him to hit in the face.”

Kilgharrah put his tiny glowing hands on his tiny glowing hips and even on such a small face, Arthur could see the raised eyebrow.

“WHAT?” Arthur said a bit louder, exasperated. The fairy glanced at the ship. Arthur blinked. “Oh. Yes.” He put mimicked Kilgharrah, putting his hands on his hips. “Well if you're trying to stop me to go there... actually, don't even try.”

At his surprise, the fairy smiled. Before Arthur could say anything, Kil was floating over him and covering him with fairy powder. Arthur didn't even feel his feet leaving the ground.

 

When he was high above the sea, flying toward the boat at a steady speed, he whispered to Kilgharrah who was flying next to his head, “Now, Merlin is going to kill us both. Maybe you should leave now, I'm going to be fine.” The fairy didn't stop surprising Arthur because he nodded and before Arthur could blink, he was gone.

Arthur slowed down when he approached the ship. He stayed close to the water where he was sure no one would see him but he had a nice view of the inside of the boat through its small round windows. He could hear voices coming from the deck, but none of them were Morgana's. It was easy to guess that considering Morgana was the captain, or at least she had some power, and if she was a woman on a mostly male populated boat, she'd had her own room. At this hour of the night, where else would she be?

His idea was confirmed when he heard Cenred yelling.

“If I hear one footstep behind this door again, I'll decapitate the first person near it when I open it! This is a private conversation with the ladies and Morgause doesn't like to be spied on!”

His voice was easy enough to follow, and even if it meant that Morgana wasn't alone, the fact that they were still awake and discussing things in the middle of the night meant that something was happening. Arthur knew that he had to discover what. Morgause didn't like to be spied on. He was going to take a certain pleasure on doing exactly that.

The room where Cenred, Morgause, and Morgana were was in the bow of the boat and it had one of the widest windows Arthur had ever seen. It was more like a wall made of glass than an actual window, and it gave Arthur a perfect view of the inside of the room, a luxurious lounge with a huge desk covered by books and maps in the middle. It was easy to hide because the bow was entirely sculpted, and easy to hear what the pirates were saying through the glass. Arthur would never have guessed that spying was so easy - not that he knew anything about spying in the first place.

 

“I already told you, sweetie, we'll get to him, don't you worry.” Morgause said softly to Morgana, putting a reassuring hand on the girl's shoulder.

They were sitting on a sofa and Cenred was pacing in front of them.

“I still don't understand... how... what is he doing here? What is he doing with them?” Morgana yelped. Her eyes were red, proof that she had been crying. Arthur cringed.

“Merlin brought him! He has a plan, he wants to weaken us! That's why he brought your brother! He hopes we'll soften... the bastard!” Cenred said. Arthur saw Morgause's hand tightening on Morgana's shoulder.

“But... why now?” Morgana asked. “After all this time, why would he bring Arthur here now?”

“Why isn't important Morgana. What is important is that we get him out of their hands. That we get him to safety, here, with us. With you.”

“And this is our chance, finally we can take that bastard down!” Cenred added with enthusiasm.

Morgana gave him a look that made Arthur shiver. It immediately calmed Cenred. It was no mystery to Arthur that the bastard Cenred talked about was Merlin. He was starting to see what they planned to do. They were going to use him and Morgana. He wasn't going to let that happen.

Minutes later, after Morgause had made tea for herself and Morgana and Cenred had a glass of whisky, it was confirmed. 

“Once he get him on our side, Arthur will lead us right to Merlin. And we can take back what is rightfully ours,” Morgause said.

Morgana shook her head.

“It won't be this easy. Arthur is extremely loyal, and I left him. Surely he wouldn't choose me….”

“Morgana,” Morgause said, her voice so smooth that it made Arthur want to vomit. How could Morgana not see all the hypocrisy?

“How could anyone not chose you?” She continued, “He will come, once I tell him everything that I told you. Trust me.”

Morgana smiled shyly.

“When do we act?” Cenred asked, breaking themoment.

“Soon,” Morgause answered, now back to her harsh, normal self. “Tomorrow. There's no time to lose. Finally, I'll get my revenge....”

Her smile then was what made Arthur fly away.

 

His mind was racing, his whole body was burning with anger, but not the same kind as earlier. Now, he was full of worry. Maybe Merlin lied to him, maybe he had done things that had hurt Arthur profoundly, but if there was one thing Arthur knew, it was that Merlin was a nice person, if not a good one, and that he regretted what he did.

It was easy to see now that he had calmed down. Merlin's face when he had talked to Arthur, when he said that he was sorry... he couldn't fake that kind of pain. Merlin deserved to have Arthur angry at him, but he didn't deserved what the pirates were planning.

And there wasn't only him. The Lost boys, the village... They were all good people, and he wouldn't let any harm come to them, he couldn't allow that to happen. Plus, he was obviously missing something. Maybe Merlin didn't know, or probably he didn't have the time to tell Arthur before he became enraged, but there was lies on both sides, and he was going to get the full story.

He suspected that Morgause had lied more than anyone else after seeing her little game with Morgana back in the ship. Arthur knew his sister wasn't a bad person, she was so evidently being manipulated; it only gave Arthur more courage in order to free her. He flew faster and faster, straight to the tree house. One thing he was certain about, though. He wasn't going to let himself be manipulated, too.

As much as he knew that the habitants of the island were good people, he knew that Morgause was a bad person. Hell, she was the worse even between the pirates! Cenred was a fool, a mere pawn, but Morgause... she was evil, and if he could do something to stop her from getting her hands on Neverland, he was going to do it without hesitation!

The first thing he had to do was simple; he had to warn Merlin.


	8. 8.

Arthur ran into Merlin when he approached the tree house. Merlin's face lightened up when he noticed him, but then fell .

Merlin asked.

“Where were you? We were starting to worry!”

“Merlin, listen, I--” Arthur's voice caught in a breath and he coughed. Apparently, flying was as tiring as running, and now that the adrenalin rush was over, he felt a little dizzy. Merlin rushed to him when he started to lose his balance.

“I'm just... going to sit...,” Arthur whispered. Merlin held onto Arthur's arms, helping him sit on a fallen tree that was thankfully right there.

“What the hell happened?” Merlin asked as soon as they were settled, the worry perfectly audible in his voice.

“The pirate... Morgause...,” Arthur started. He shook his head. He had to put his ideas in order or they would lose too much time trying to understand his rambling.

 

“OK,” he finally said. Then, he took a deep breath, and started talking.

“We can't do anything before they do something,” Merlin said, later, after Arthur had finished telling him what he had discovered. “I'm going to send Kilgharrah warn everyone, but there's really nothing we can do for now. I'm sorry.”

“It's fine, I understand.” Arthur hadn't forgotten their earlier fight, but he felt strangely calm now and Merlin's presence next to him was reassuring.

“I guess...,” Merlin hesitated. “I suppose you still have many questions. Would you mind if we waited until this whole mess is over and you can have answer from both me and Morgana?” He looked at Arthur's with his huge, bright blue eyes and Arthur's heart skipped a beat.

“Y-yeah,” he answered.

“Great!” Merlin smiled. “How about we go to sleep now? It's really late and we'll have a lot to do tomorrow. I don't know about you but I'm not really a morning person.”

 

Arthur shivered.“I don't really feel like sleeping right now. The adrenalin and all that, you know.” He tried to smile but failed. He felt tired to the bone, but couldn't imagine closing his eyes. He was pretty sure that if he slept right now, he wouldn't get any rest because his sleep would be full of nightmares and old memories he had tried hard to bury at the back of his mind.

Merlin starred for half a second before nodding.

“OK, that's... normal I guess. Then....” He looked up, put his hand under his chin and hummed and pretended to be thinking. Arthur couldn't help but laugh.

Merlin tried to look offended, but it only made Arthur laugh harder.

“Hey! I'm insulted! I'm trying to think of something fun to keep us busy until you decide it's time to sleep! Show some respect!” Merlin said, doing a terrible job at hiding the laugher in his voice.

“Oh, yeah?” Arthur replied. “I think I've just been proved again that thinking isn't your best talent, _Mer_ lin. How about you let me do that part?”

“Oh shut up, you prat, and come with me. I've got something to show you!”

 

With those words, before Arthur could pretend to be offended, too, Merlin grabbed his hand and tugged him into the air.

They floated over the forest for no more than ten minutes before Merlin declared joyfully, “We're here!”.

Arthur looked around him and what he saw took his breath away. They were in front of a clearing.

It wasn't big, but it was one of the most impressive and beautiful place Arthur had ever seen. The first thing he saw was the waterfall. It was small, too, and fell into a small lake of pure, transparent water. There were rocks everywhere, white and shiny, and grass and so many flowers of so many colours, and the trees of the forest that surrounded the place seemed to be of a brighter green even in the night. The moonlight reflected in the water made it shine like thousands of diamonds. The atmosphere of the place was so peaceful Arthur couldn't help but be filled by it. He let out a relieved sigh.

Merlin dragged them to the rocks closest to the water, not saying a word. It felt like saying the wrong word would break the moment, would somehow make this place less magical. Arthur didn't even dare blink.

 

“Arthur?” Merlin's voice came to Arthur's ears softer than ever. Arthur turned his head and then saw... Merlin, half naked, going into the water. His clothes were carefully placed on a rock, leaving him only in his underwear. In the moonlight, Merlin's skin was almost as luminous as the water, and it made Arthur realize that Merlin was truly _magical_ , like this whole place. He could see how Merlin belonged here.

Merlin raised an eyebrow.

“Arthur, are you coming?”

“What?”

“In the water Arthur.” Merlin sighed. “It's warm, don't worry.”

“Oh.”

Without thinking, he took off his clothes, folded them neatly and put them next to Merlin's before he put a foot in the water.

 

“It's warm!” he exclaimed. Merlin looked at him disapprovingly.

“Of course it is, I just told you so!”

Arthur didn't hesitate anymore and with a jump, he was in the lake, swimming next to Merlin.

At first, they only swam in silence, taking their time, admiring the beauty of the place or looking at the stars while floating on their back. Then Merlin accidentally bumped into Arthur while swimming on his back and it started.

“Merlin!”

“Sorry, I'm so sorry...”

“Are you really?” Arthur smiled and Merlin immediately understood.

“Oh no, don't do that, don't do thaaaa---” His last word was literally drowned out. Arthur had pushed Merlin underwater. Merlin fought and got out of Arthur's grasp.

“Oh you want to play that game? Fine!” And he smiled before jumping on Arthur and dragging them both underwater.

 

Arthur and Merlin were breathless. They had no idea how long they'd been here, swimming, wrestling and throwing water at each other, laughing with all the air their lungs could contain, but the sun wasn't up yet. They were calmer now, back to simply swimming.

It took a moment for Arthur to notice the silence. He looked around him and Merlin was nowhere to be found. For a short moment, he panicked. Merlin wouldn't leave him, not here, not now!

Then, he saw the silhouette under the waterfall and smiled.

 

He took his time, swimming slowly toward the waterfall, careful not to break the moment Merlin seemed to be having.

Merlin had closed his eyes and was standing still, head turned upward, arms stretched in front of him, palms up. Like this, it was as if he was fully part of the clearing, another rock, another flower, so beautiful and yet so strange, bright even in the darkness. Merlin really was something else, something Arthur couldn't completely grasp, but he still liked it. He was almost sad when he joined Merlin under the waterfall because he couldn't see him too clearly with all the water falling on his face.

 

He stood next to Merlin, but keeping his balance with the weight of the water falling on him wasn't easy. He stumbled a bit, and at first managed to stay up, but he lost his balance again and this time there was nothing to do but grab the closest thing in hope to stay up and...

“Arth--”

They both fell in the water.

“Are you all right?” Merlin asked.

Arthur coughed again. It had all happened in a blink. A moment, they were standing under the waterfall, then another and they were underwater and swimming as fast as possible to get out of it. And finally, they were standing up, face to face, both breathing heavily and coughing water. Arthur had closed his eyes, but he could feel the warmth of Merlin's body close to his.

 

“Arthur?” Merlin asked again, softly, putting a hand on Arthur's arm. As soon as it touched his skin, Arthur felt his entire body filling with warmth. He opened his eyes abruptly and stared at Merlin whose face was only a few centimetres away from his. He looked worried.

“I... fine...,” Arthur gasped, suddenly breathless. Everything had become tense around them, and now they weren't moving, or even speaking. Only looking, blue eyes and blue eyes, and the silence only broken by the noise of the waterfall. Merlin's hand tightened its grip on Arthur's arm and everything started moving at a normal speed again, or so Arthur felt like it did.

He stepped away from Merlin abruptly, moving his arm away from Merlin's hand and immediately feeling its absence. He looked away when he muttered, “I'm going to swim a little more.” The “alone” was implied, and from Merlin's expression, he heard it.

 

They were careful not to make eye contact – or at least, Arthur was – and not to stand too close. Whatever moment they'd been having, it was gone, and Arthur felt the tension leave his shoulders slowly. But his heart was still beating faster than it should, and it was strangely impossible to calm down. Arthur crawled into the water and swam away.  


	9. 9.

 Arthur knew this shouldn't feel familiar, but he wasn't surprised when he woke up next to Merlin again - or more precisely, entangled with Merlin, which was more surprising than just being next to him.

 

. They hadn't come back to the tree house; instead, they were laying on the grass, in the clearing with the waterfall, surrounded by flowers and with the bright sunlight just over their heads. When Arthur came back from his lonely swimming session the night before, he found Merlin already sleeping, and it had seemed like the most natural thing to just lie next to him. Despite the fight, despite the new found awkwardness between them, Arthur realized that he trusted Merlin, appreciated his company, even if he was never going to admit it out loud, and he didn't want to lose the fragile thing they had, whatever that was.

 

So naturally he settled next to Merlin. However, he remembered clearly being very careful not to touch him, which was why the fact that they were hugging – there wasn't any other word to describe it, really – was a bit of a surprise.

 

Of course, when he tried to move away, Merlin tightened his grip on Arthur. Arthur, who considered himself to be a decent human being and had received a proper education, didn't want to be rude and push Merlin away while he was sleeping so peacefully. But when he noticed that the warm and sticky thing against his chest was Merlin's bare chest and the reason it felt like this was because his own chest was also bare, and that in fact, they were both still half naked, his body moved away before his brain could fully comprehend what was happening.

 

“Aouch.” Merlin mumbled, awoken by the shock. Arthur was so glad that Merlin was still half-asleep and so not able to notice Arthur's red cheeks.

“It's time to wake up Merlin!” Arthur said, standing up and looking around to find where the hell he had put his clothes. “Lots to do today!”

Merlin mumbled something incomprehensible and curled up on himself.

“Noooo.”

“Merlin! Don't make me repeat myself again or I'll have to use strength to get you up. You know I will.”

Unwillingly, Merlin sat up and brushed the sleep out of his eyes.

“It's so early... We don't wake up this early here, especially not after a party!”

 

Arthur couldn't help but notice how Merlin hadn't mentioned their unexpected bonding time under the waterfall, but since he didn't want to talk about that either, he was glad for it.

“Of course,” he said, looking at the sky and sighing. “That doesn't surprise me. Well, you're going to have to change this habit. It's a terrible loss of time.”

“Sleeping isn't a loss of time!” Merlin said, scandalized.

“Over sleeping is. Now, on your feet. As I said, we've got many things to do.”

They kept arguing all the way to the tree-house, but stopped when they arrived in order not to wake the Lost boys. However, it quickly became obvious that they weren't there.

“They must have stayed at the village,” Merlin said without a hint of worry.

As to confirm his saying, Kilgharrah appeared and nodded. Merlin's face brightened.

“Ah Kil! Perfect! You can go and fetch them!”

Kilgharrah immediately looked like he regretted his decision to appear.

Arthur couldn't help but enjoy seeing the fairy like that. It was just funny seeing such a small creature getting angry. It looked a bit like a mosquito; of course, as Arthur thought that, Kilgharrah gave him his angriest look that sent shivers down Arthur's spine. He mentally said sorry then and Kilgharrah smiled.

 

As soon as Kilgharrah left, they entered the tree house and managed to have a quick breakfast during which they argued some more about ridiculous stuff like whybananas are supposed to be yellow, not red and Arthur refusing to eat that weird blue spiky fruit.

When the Lost boys arrived about half and hour later, they didn't look surprised to see Arthur and Merlin so close and friendly, so Arthur guessed Merlin hadn't told them about their fight, for which he was glad. That was something they had to talk between themselves first.

“So,” he said when they were all sitting on the ground in the centre of the tree-house. “There's news and we need a plan.”

“We always need a plan with you, do we?” Gwaine asked, his tone definitely sarcastic.

“Unless you don't want to stay alive, then yes we do,” Arthur said harshly. He heard Merlin gasp at his words, but only because he was sitting right next to him.

The other boys simply nodded. Then Arthur started to explain what happened, and three hours later, they had a plan.

 

However, it quickly became apparent that having a plan that had been agreed on by the majority didn't stop Merlin from complaining about it, because the minute after they decided on it and parted ways to get ready, Merlin was on Arthur, yelling.

“I can't let you do that! I will hide, I don't care, but you won't go alone!”

“Merlin, we already talked about it for freaking three hours! We're not going to argue again now.”

“Yes, we are until you listen to reason! This is suicide!”

“It isn't. I know what I'm doing. I know Morgana. And I am not _helpless_.”

“You don't know Morgause! That woman is a wicked witch....”

“Merlin,” Arthur said firmly, his voice strong and steady. “I need to know. Morgana is my sister. Do you understand that?”

Merlin stayed silent for a minute before saying, “Yes, I do. But it doesn't mean that I'll watch you risk your life like this and do nothing when I can help!”

“You are not helping right now.”

“Fine! Whatever!” Merlin said, exasperated.

“Yeah, fine!” Arthur repeated in the exact same tone.

They looked right into each other's eyes for half a second before Merlin sighed and broke contact. He floated away silently under Arthur's angry gaze.

 

Behind Arthur, a voice said, “He's just worried.”.

Arthur's heart jumped in his chest but he tried his best to hide it. He turned and found himself facing Gwaine who had crossed his arms on his chest.

“He feels responsible for you, since he brought you here. And he cares about you.”

“Yes? Well if he thinks I'm going to risk any life but my own, he's a fool.”

“You're both as stubborn as the other, aren't you?”

Arthur frowned.

“If you don't have anything useful to say, you are free to go.”

At his surprise, Gwaine grinned.

“I don't know what Merlin told you, but you must know he used to go to your bedroom window to listen to Morgana's stories.”

Arthur nodded. Gwaine settled against the wall of the tree-house, arms still crossed.

“Well, when he came back, he always told us the stories, and we loved them. When it suddenly stopped, we were all worried. When he brought Morgana, it was awesome. We didn't know about you, but Merlin still left every night for a while after that. Until things got complicated, and it got complicated quickly, I can tell you that.”

Arthur raised an eyebrow.

“What are you trying to tell me?”

Gwaine sighed.

“He wanted to make sure you were all right I think. He probably would have brought you here earlier if the situation hadn't been so fucked up here. I think he wanted to make sure you were ready but when you were, it was too late.”

“Wait, are you allowed to swear in Neverland?”

Gwaine laughed. “Anyway, I'm not going to tell you more, I don't even know everything, but it's not my story to tell. Just so you know, Merlin would never hurt you on purpose. So whatever got you two to act so weird around each other... well, just, don't do something you'll regret.”

Arthur looked at Gwaine with wide eyes as he walked away, not sure what to make of everything he'd just been told. Who knew Gwaine could be so serious! He shook his head, trying not to think about What Gwaine had said and instead tried to concentrate on their plan to stop the pirates.

 

It was almost noon before they decided they were ready to act and send Kilgharrah to give a message to the pirates. The fairy seemed to be the safest solution for that. He was small, agile, quick and so vicious that even if the pirates captured him, they'd release him after ten minutes because he'd annoy them too much.

They had a quiet time before moving to the meeting point. The Lost boys and Merlin mostly had decided that they'd stay with Arthur until the last moment. Arthur had agreed, of course. If that made them feel better....

 

He managed to be alone with Merlin just before they left, which was a small miracle since the Lost boys kept harassing him about their sticks and hammers and wooden swords and asked him question about fencing he had forgotten the answers to years ago.

“Gwaine told me... stuff,” Arthur said. As soon as the words left his mouth, he felt the anxiety rising in him and blushed. He wanted to talk to Merlin, but he also had no idea about what exactly.

“Stuff?” Merlin asked innocently.

“About Morgana. And how you came to our bedroom to listen to the story. And how you came after she left....”

“Oh, the traitor!”

“He didn't tell me much really, nothing that I didn't already know, but an outside point of view is always helpful. Anyway, I realized I probably over-reacted yesterday and....”

“ _Probably_ over-reacted? Yeah sure! You ran away before I could say another word. I don't call that just _probably_.” Merlin was smiling as he spoke, and the teasing made Arthur smile too, even if he tried to hide it Merlin obviously saw it because his smile widened.

“Anyway,” Arthur continued. “I guess... Things here aren't as nice and perfect as I imagined. You weren't like I imagined. I felt betrayed, but that was stupid of me, of course. So. I'm... well, I won't over-react again.”

“Arthur...” Merlin said softy. “Are you... are you saying sorry?” His smile was still huge, but it wasn't teasing anymore. Arthur took a deep breath.

“Fine. Yes. I'm sorry, OK.”

 

They had walked out of the tree-house and were now wandering in front of it, walking in a circle. After a moment, Arthur grew tired of it and sat on the closest rock. Merlin immediately sat next to him.

“You know...,” Arthur sighed. “When Morgana was gone, I used to believe that you were watching over me. I always had this feeling... I'm glad to learn that it wasn't just a feeling.”

He looked quickly at Merlin, just long enough to see him blush.

“I also used to think that growing up sucked. I would see my father and I thought thatI never want to be like him. I still think that, actually. But now I realize that growing up doesn't mean growing up like him. You're not forced to grow up. I mean, your body grows older, but if you're surrounded by the right people and do the right choices... you don't have to stop enjoying life. I don't want to stop doing that. When I go back, I'm going to make sure that I don't become like my father.”

Merlin's mouth opened,“When you... Oh right, silly me. Yes of course. That's a good decision, Arthur.”

Merlin tried to smile, but it was broken.

“Merlin?”

“Nothing, nothing! So....”

“Merlin, you promised I could come back.” Arthur insisted.

“Of course you will. I didn't lie to you. It's just, sometimes I forget that another world exists....” The 'That you weren't always there with me' was unspoken but they both heard it. Sometimes Arthur forgot that he hadn't always been there, too.

“Even if I wanted to stay, I have to get back,” he said seriously. “I can't abandon my father. He may be strict and annoying, but he loves me and after seeing how broken he was when Morgana left, I can't do that to him. Plus I have a life there, things I like....”

“Like... a girlfriend?”

 

Merlin's question surprised Arthur so much he lost his balance and fell on the ground.

“What?”

Merlin looked at him blankly as he stood up and sat on the rock again.

“What if there was anyway? It's not like I'm a kid, not exactly. I'm fifteen you know, it's that age where you starts having more serious girlfriends.” He paused, “Or boyfriends.” He tried to sound confident as he spoke, but it wasn't easy, especially with Merlin blushing from head to toes, which was way too adorable, really.

“You should have told me...,” Merlin finally said. “I would have taken her, too!”

Arthur thought for a second then smiled.

“I don't think so.”

Merlin instantly looked offended.

“That's not very nice to say that about your girlfriend! Of course I would have taken the girl you like with you!”

Arthur grinned. Oh, this was too easy!

“Well I guess we'll never know!”

“What? Why? I can go back and.... if you tell me I can...” Merlin stammered.

“Merlin.” Arthur said softer than he intended. He put his hand on Merlin's forearm and squeezed a bit as to reassure him - of what, he wasn't sure. “There's no girl I like.”

Merlin's face immediately lightened. Arthur was immediately overwhelmed with the need to hug him. Instead, he stood up, dragging Merlin up with him, and looked away as he said, “We should go now. The others must be waiting for us.”

 

Merlin simply nodded. His hand was still on Merlin's forearm, but Merlin didn't seemed to mind and Arthur didn't let go. They didn't know how long they stayed here, silently smiling at each other, before they actually moved.


	10. 10.

 Apparently, the message was delivered without any problem because Kilgharrah joined them on their way to the meeting point. He just had to drop a piece of paper on the boat so Arthur wasn't as surprised as Merlin. He couldn't believe that the pirates didn't try to capture the fairy, which made Kilgharrah hit him for doubting him. They all laughed then, desperately trying not to let the anxiety overtake them.

 

The place they had decided on was a cave. Not a creepy one like the one in the skull rock, not a magical one like the one with the waterfall, a simply cave with green plants and water and normal looking rock, with a big entrance, and not to far from the tree-house and the sea.

There were two reasons for choosing this place: they would be hidden from curious eyes and if there were an attack, it would be easier to contain it.

Arthur was quite proud of their plan. He had had the main idea, but without the help and knowledge of the Lost boys and Merlin, it wouldn't have been as good as it was. So, it's with confidence that he entered the cave alone after waving the other boys away.

 

Morgana arrived exactly at the time he had indicated in his message. She was enveloped in a black cape and kept glancing worryingly around her. When she saw Arthur, her face changed completely, suddenly brighter. She smiled.

“Arthur!” She called.

Arthur walked toward her and hugged her.

They stayed into each other's arms for a while before Arthur stepped back and looked at her.

“You look great,” he said, simply.

“You, too. You grew a lot.” She laughed. “You're finally taller than me.”

It struck Arthur then that Morgana almost hadn't changed since the last time he saw her in the Pendragon's mansion. Time really passed differently in Neverland. And people really didn't grow up. He took a deep breath before speaking. They didn't have much time.

 

“I was so worried, Morgana. When you left... and father was hurt, you know. He hasn't been the same since then.”

“I don't care about father!” Morgana said. “He never cared about me, or even about you. He only cares about appearances, we're like trophies to him. The only thing he ever wanted for me was to find a rich man to marry to bring more money to the family.”

“That's not true and you know it. He might be cold, but he isn't a machine and he knows we're not objects. He was broken when you disappeared. He wouldn't talk for months, drowning himself in his work... he was grieving for you.”

Morgana's face fell as he talked.

“Oh Arthur! What did he do to you?” Her eyes filled with tears.

“Nothing!” he answered instantly.

“Tell me,” she insisted, her voice steady despite the tears rolling on her cheeks.

“There's nothing to tell, Morgana. I worked. I had to be the best, so I became the best. It was hard, but it was OK. It kept me busy, too. I didn't had the time to think, to feel lonely.”

He sighed.

“I'm so sorry.” Morgana whispered, so low Arthur almost missed it.

“Don't be,” he said softly. “I'm not helpless. I managed fine.”

“I should have insisted that we come back for you! I should have….'”

“Morgana, please, no. I don't want to know what could have happened. It didn't. What I want to know however is what actually happened and what you are doing here.” With the pirates, he meant, and he was sure Morgana knew it.

 

So Morgana told Arthur everything. How Merlin came in her bedroom when she was the most desperate and asked her to come to Neverland. How they had wanted to take Arthur, too, but Uther had been around and they had been forced to flee. How she met the Lost boys and they asked her to tell them stories. How she became good friend with Gwen. How they made plans with Merlin to bring Arthur here. How she met Morgause in the woods.

Her face darkened then.

Morgause and she quickly became friends, but Morgause wasn't allowed on the island. Merlin had banished her, and it was very complicated for her to get there because she was under constant watch. She told Morgana so many things about the place, and it didn't take long for Morgana to realize that it wasn't as dream-like as it seemed.

 

“She admitted her mistakes! She was ready to make concessions. But Merlin wouldn't even talk to her!” Morgana said angrily.

She had argued with Merlin more every day. Morgause had to be allowed back on the island, she said. But Merlin always said no without giving an explanation. At some point, she just had to make a choice. Of course she went with Morgause. Morgana could never bear unfairness.

Arthur's mind was working at triple speed. Morgana's story hadn't changed his opinion about Morgause. She was evil, there was nothing to say about that, it was a fact. But it added questions, especially about what had happened with Merlin and Morgause before Morgana arrived.

He didn't asked questions because it was obvious Morgana didn't know the whole truth. Morgana, however, was full of questions.

 

“How's Gwen?” she said guiltily.

“She's doing fine,” It was the truth.

“And Merlin? The boys?”

“Everyone is doing fine, from what I saw.”

“Oh. Do... do they talk about me sometimes? Of how it was before I left them?”

Arthur thought about it for a minute. “Leon mentions you quite a lot, actually.”

“Oh.” At Arthur's surprise, she smiled widely even as she started crying.

“Morgana?”

“I'm sorry, I'm fine,” she said between sobs. She was still smiling.

If Arthur had realized one thing about Morgana in the past minutes, it was that she felt guilty, was confused and missed everyone a lot. It was all very good, since it meant that she was starting to see through Morgause's lies – whatever those lies were exactly. So it was with a light heart that Arthur welcomed Morgause, Cenred and the rest of the pirate crew when they appeared at the entrance of the cave.

 

“You're going to come with us now, Arthur Pendragon. Don't try to escape,” Cenred said with a huge grin.

Arthur just nodded. He was surrounded; there was nothing he could do. Morgana looked at him with sad eyes, biting her lips, trying not to say that she was sorry, even though her eyes were telling him that.

Arthur smiled at her to let her know that he understood. _Everything is going to be fine,_ he thought, hoping that she would get that, too.

 

The boat was bigger on the inside than it looked on the outside. Arthur realized that when he was dropped on the deck. His hands were already tied up and he hadn't fought them all the way from the cave to their ship, but they still felt the need to tie him up to the central mast.

“This is ridiculous,” Arthur said. “If I wanted to escape, I would have done so before being in the middle of the sea!”

Of course, his protestations only made Morgause smile. Morgana had been sent to her room as soon as they had arrived, and he was now facing Morgause and Cenred.

“Now, Arthur Pendragon...,” she said, her voice sickeningly sweet. “Let's talk.”

Her smile sent shivers down Arthur's spine. He had a pretty good guess at what Morgause considered talking, and he was absolutely certain that he wasn't going to like it.

 

 

The sun was still high when Morgause finally stopped hitting him. His nose was bleeding, his lipswere cut open and his mouth tasted metallic. His entire body hurt. But he hadn't screamed. Actually, he hadn't said a word at all, which could explain why Morgause was so furious.

She hadn't let Cenred hit him, which he was grateful for. The man seemed to be a lot less precise than Morgause who always knew exactly where and with what strength she wanted to hit him.

The questions were simple, predictable. “Where is Merlin?” “Where does he live?” “How do we get there?” “What's his plan?”, etc.

 

Arthur had expected more, because he was the one who made the plan and he knew all the answers and more, but apparently Morgana hadn't told them about his fearless leader capacities. He's always been one to take the lead, to make the plan, and Morgana had to know that he would take charge here, too, especially when he found himself in such a dangerous situation. He wouldn't let anyone make the choice to risk his own life.

But Morgause was blinded by rage and hatred, and she only saw Arthur as Merlin's pawn. Arthur quickly understood that Morgause had no respect for anyone – she felt compassion for Morgana, probably, but that didn't stop her from using her – and couldn't imagine that people could be anything more than pieces to play with.

 

While Arthur kept his mouth shut, she'd been talking. It was interesting, and made time pass faster, but at the same time she didn't say anything he didn't already know. All this ranting about Merlin and the island and betrayal and Merlin being an insensible bastard, Her vision of Merlin was so far from the truth Arthur had a hard time trying not to laugh.

“So, Pendragon. Still don't want to open up?” She asked after cleaning the blood off her hands.

Arthur raised an eyebrow and smiled at her. _What do you think?_

“Oh, well. This was all very fun, and I know I promised Morgana not to break you too much but I'm afraid our time is ended.” She smiled that evil smile of hers

. “So.” She turned around and opened her hand toward Cenred who'd stayed to watch. Instead of taking it, he turned around himself and made a sign to one of the pirates. Morgause's back was hiding what was happening, but he heard the clank of metal. He wasn't too surprised when she turned back to face him holding a shiny sword in her hand. She was grinning.

“Time's up, Pendragon!”


	11. 11.

“WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!” Someone screamed from the top of the higher mast.

 

Morgause turned around again, confused, and Arthur chose that moment to get up. He'd been working on the ropes since he'd been tied and the knots broke apart easily.

He punched the first pirate who noticed him and took his sword. It was very different from a fencing blade, shorter and the blade wider, but it would do. He'd been trained to fight since he was able to walk, even if it had never been intended for a situation like this one. The pirates were adults but he was tinier, fast and precise and they never saw him coming.

He saw the Lost boys from out of the corner of his eye, too outnumbered to take the time to make sure they were doing fine. Suddenly, a dark silhouette appeared in front of him. He took a step back but a familiar voice called his name.

 

“Arthur! You're bleeding! Crap, I'm sorry we took so long.”

“Merlin!” Arthur smiled. Merlin moved behind him, putting his back against Arthur's, so that they could talk and fight at the same time.

“I'm fine, just a cut.” Arthur said loudly to cover the noises of the swords.

“What did she do to you? Oh god, I'm so sorry, we should have come earlier.”

“I said it's fine. She just slapped me repeatedly. I can handle that.” Arthur managed to say between pirates throwing themselves at him. He gasped when a sword came a little bit to close to his throat but pushed the pirate away and knocked him out. “Not helpless, Merlin, remember?”

Merlin let out a small laugh and flew away to help the Lost boys. The pirates who were getting ready to attack them turned their attention on him and Arthur was free to concentrate on his main goal, meaning Morgause.

 

Morgause was standing on the higher deck, looking at the fight with narrowed eyes. When she saw Arthur approaching, she drew out her sword and moved into a defensive position. She waited until Arthur was on the same deck before moving again.

“I knew it would come to that Pendragon. I hate to fight with kids but you leave me no choice.” Her voice was so full of disdain when she pronounced the word 'kids' that Arthur had to fight hard not to throw himself at her.

“We're not the one who captured and bullied people. Whatever your reasons are, Morgause, and I don't believe they're good anymore, that's not something to do.”

“Don't speak as if you knew anything!” And she threw herself at him, sword first.

She was faster and more agile than the other pirates, and she managed to cut Arthur slightly several times, but Arthur did the same to her, and they were both quickly breathless. Swords in front of them, less than a meter apart, they were looking straight into the other eyes when a high-pitched scream was heard.

 

It wasn't Morgause or Morgana. It was Cenred, who Merlin had been fighting, who was now on the edge of the deck and ready to fall in the sea. In the water right under him, there was the crocodile.

The crocodile was the reason Merlin and the Lost boys had taken so long to get to the ship. They had had to wake the creature up, to convince it that it would be worth it, all while making sure it didn't try to eat them. Arthur would have loved to see that; it probably had been very funny.

And now there it was, waiting for the pirate to fall right into its mouth. The Lost boys weren't one to use such devices to win, but they were cruelly outnumbered, and the crocodile would have ended up coming anyway so at least was in the right place at the right time.

Profiting of Morgause's surprise, Arthur jumped to the first deck and ran to Merlin.

 

Merlin was floating above Cenred, his small knife on the pirate's throat. Cenred was whimpering, pleading for his life. But Merlin's face was cold and closed. He turned his head toward Arthur.

It took only a nod from Arthur for Merlin to move and push Cenred into the water. Cenred's scream was followed by a loud splash and another scream and the sound of someone swimming as fast as they can, but no one on the ship paid attention. They had all turned to face Morgause. She had come down from the second deck. Behind herthere was a few pirates, looking beaten up and tired but still holding their weapons firmly. The Lost boys got ready to attack when they were stopped by a new voice.

 

“Morgause! It's time to put an end to this! Everyone, stop fighting and let's talk.”

 

It was Morgana, of course. Everyone's eyes widened as she walked between the two groups. She still wore her green dress, and in the sunlight she looked almost surreal. Her voice was clear and firm, and no one contradicted her. Merlin even put down his knife, which Arthur considered to be a foolish action but didn't comment on it.

Morgause seemed to think about it for a minute. They all held their breath waiting for her to answer. Finally, she sighed.

“Fine. But it's because it's you, my dear.”

 

As expected, Morgause and Merlin started to argue, and it was surprising that they managed to stay away from each other since it was obvious that they wanted nothing more than to punch the other in the face.

“You expelled me from my home!” Morgause yelled. “As if you had any right to do so!”

“As if you had any right to try to take it from us!” Merlin answered angrily. “It was everyone's home until you decided we weren't good enough for it!”

“I did no such thing!”

“It was the rule, Morgause,” Merlin said, breathing heavily in order not to lose his temper. Arthur moved to stand closer to him, in case he had to grab him to stop him from attacking the pirate. “It still is the rule. Everyone is equal here, as long as they don't try to restrict the others' freedom. Which is exactly what you did.”

“What does that mean?” Morgana asked. Her eyes had kept widening as Merlin and Morgana spoke.

“I'm sorry, Morgana.” Merlin said, turning toward her and smiling sadly. “I should have told you everything earlier, but then again, I was too late.” He glanced at Arthur who was as confused as Morgana. “We were doing fine, Morgause, and you ruined everything.” He said louder.

“We were doing fine before you arrived here!” She shouted.

 

Merlin's face fell, and Arthur's heart broke with it.

 

“You all know I don't remember a thing before I arrived here. This place is my home and I care about it more than anything.”

Despite his best efforts, Merlin's voice was shaking a bit. Arthur didn't hesitate and took Merlin's hand in his, holding it tight. He couldn't do much to show his support but he could do that.

Morgause looked like she was going to burst in fire. Arthur suspected that she was already burning inside.

“It was _my_ home and you took it away from me!”

Merlin sighed.

“Maybe, but it wasn't only your home. It's mine, and the one of so many people you treated with disdain.”

Morgause let out a small laugh.

“They proved again and again that they don't deserve my respect.”

Arthur couldn't stop himself then, he just had to say it.

“Is there anyone who you consider worth of your respect? Because I haven't seen you treating anyone with anything but disdain.”

 

Morgause's laugh became more hysterical.

“You! You only arrived here, what? Two days ago? You have no say in this. You don't have any reason to care for this place!”

Arthur tightened his hold on Merlin's hand and looked at him before turning his head to look at Morgana.

“Yes, I do.”

 

Morgause looked at him with pure hatred, a look that until then had been reserved for Merlin. Then, she turned to Morgana.

“Morgana, sweetheart, I'm sorry it ended up like this.”

“Don't try to feed her your lies again!” Arthur yelled. Morgana looked at him, confused.

“What are they talking about?” She said.

But before Morgause could open her mouth to answer, Merlin spoke. "Did she tell you, Morgana? Did she tell you the whole story? The reason we had to throw her off the island?"“

“Of course!” Morgause yelled. But from the shaking in her voice, it was obvious that it was a lie.

There was tears rolling on Morgana's cheeks now.

 

“Please, both of you! Stop! It's not what we want!” She sobbed. “You both made mistakes and it's time to admit them and stop this foolish fight!”

“Morgana...,” Merlin said softly. “I didn't want to tell you because I hoped that you would be able to make Morgause see reason, that with your friendship she would come back to her senses. I didn't want you to judge her when there was a possibility that she would redeem herself. When I realized I was wrong, it was too late. But I'm not going to keep anything from anyone now, when I see all the pain that results from so many secrets.” He took a deep breath. “She tried to kill me. She tried to take control of the village, she let the pirates on the island and she let them destroy everything. She tried to kill me and the boys and she planned to hurt everyone that stood in her way.”

“What?” Arthur and Morgana said at the same time.

“Did you imagine we would banish her for no reason? Or for something foolish like a disagreement? I wasn't the only one to make the decision, even if I had the last say on it. She hurt everyone.”

 

The whole boat had gone silent, and every eye was fixed on Merlin. Morgause had gone white. Merlin continued talking, his voice breaking with each word, as if the memories were just too painful.

“She hurt me badly. I wasn't able to fly for a day. I just realized that it was that night. When your father found out you were reading. I used to distract him, you see, or found ways to warn you that he was coming. Just enough to make sure no one knew I was there but that you wouldn't be found out. But that night, I couldn't fly so I couldn't do that, and he found you and Morgana was sent to another room and everything....”

He bit his lip. Arthur could see that he was fighting down tears. He stepped closer to Merlin so that their arms touched. They were still holding hands, and it seemed to be the only thing that stopped both of them from breaking down right there and then.

Morgana stepped away from Morgause. She looked scared.

“Is it true?” she whispered. When Morgause stayed silent, she gasped, “Oh my god! I- I trusted you! I offered you my help! I went with you!”

“And haven't I been good to you?” Morgause said. “Haven't I given you knowledge, power, strength... love?” She smiled weakly.

 

Morgana turned toward the lost boys and her eyes met Leon's. She opened her mouth to say something but instead burst in tears. She fell on her knees and Leon immediately ran to her. No one tried to stop him.

There was a heavy silence that lingered for several long minutes during which the tension grew – if that was still possible – until Arthur finally spoke.

“Morgause, you are a liar, and you are dangerous. You try to disturb the peace of the island for foolish reasons. Give us one good reason why we should let you come back. One assurance that you won't try to hurt the people living here again. And maybe we'll let you come back.”

“You don't have the right to decide anything!” Morgause said.

“We already accepted that I do. Now, your answer?”

“I will make you pay, Merlin Emrys! And you, too, Arthur Pendragon! For taking away everything I love, I will make you suffer!”

“I didn't take anything, Morgause,” Merlin said calmly. “You were the one who ran away.”

 

“This has taken too long already. Your time is up, Morgause.” Merlin turned to face the Lost boys. “Boys, do we all agree?” They all nodded. “Then....”

He turned toward Morgause again. “Morgause, Cenred and your crew, you are condemned to wander in the sea of cloud until your mind is pure. Only then will your ship bring you back here.” The pirates looked shocked and scared

“Kilgharrah!” Merlin called.

The fairy instantly appeared at his side like he has always been there. Merlin simply nodded and Kilgharrah flew over the Lost boys, throwing fairy powder at them. They immediately started floating away from the boat. Then, he went to Morgana and Leon who immediately followed the Lost boys. Finally, Merlin smiled at Arthur and they both took off.

 

Morgause and Cenred looked at them with hatred in their eyes. They seemed so furious they couldn't even speak. They stared as the boys and Morgana flew far enough from the boat and Kilgharrah began covering it in fairy powder.

Slowly, it started shining golden, and soon, it was hovering over the sea.

In a blink, Kilgharrah was floating next to Merlin again.

“It is done?” Merlin asked. Kilgharrah answered something in his mysterious language. Finally, Merlin opened the hand not holding onto Arthur's and said, his voice strangely low “Go.”

The boat took off and flew up into the sky. They watched it until it completely disappeared into the clouds.


	12. 12.

 The party to celebrate their victory that night was even bigger than the one for Gwen's safe return. It wasn't in the village this time. The villagers had chosen the biggest beach of the island to make sure that everyone could, and by everyone they meant not only the Lost boys and the villagers, but also the mermaids and, to Arthur's wonder, fairies.

Arthur couldn't help but find the fairies delightful. They had nothing to do with Kilgharrah, that was certain! They were all nice and pretty and apparently, their favourite hobby was to throw their magic powder on people to make them float when they least expected it. Arthur admitted that it was indeed very funny to watch.

 

A giant fire was burning in the middle of the beach, musicians were sitting next to it and a large group of people were dancing around the flames. From the sea, the sirens accompanied the music with their sweet voices. Food was abundant and the night was filled with the sound of music and laughter. Neverland shone with euphoria.

 

Morgana didn't take part in the celebration, of course. She had hurt people, and the fact that she'd been manipulated into it didn't ease the guilt. She couldn't face all those people who had spent so long hating her just yet. Plus, she loved Morgause in a sibling/role model way, so on top of feeling betrayed, she was also heartbroken. Everyone understood that she needed to be alone for a while and respected it. Even if Arthur really wanted to spend time with his sister again, he could be patient. He wasn't too worried about her anyway; he knew how strong she was. She just needed some time.

 

Leon, however, seemed to think differently. It wasn't as though he thought Morgana was weak, but simply that Leon loved her deeper than Arthur ever could.

Arthur and he talked a bit at the beginning of the party, mostly because Arthur thought he ought to be introduced to his sister's boyfriend properly even if said boyfriend had no idea he was a boyfriend. Leon explained how they got closer and closer and that even when Morgana left to go with Morgause, at the beginning, she still snuck out to see him.

 

Then, everyone knew what happened. But Leon had never stopped caring and trying to get her back. Apparently, Morgana hadn't been able to forget him, either. Arthur found all that extremely romantic but he wasn't going to say it out loud. Morgana would never let him hear the end of it.

 

When the night was darkest, Leon left the party to meet Morgana. She told no one where she had gone, but that didn't seem to worry Leon.

Arthur, like everyone else, was happy to see them reunited. But he had been spending most of the party with Leon and now he had no one to talk to and keep his mind off his main concern.

 

Merlin.

 

After fifteen minutes of intense brooding, ten minutes of cursing and one spicy drink, Arthur set off to search for Merlin. Of course, the idiot was nowhere to be seen. Then Arthur realized that he hadn't seen Merlin at the party at all!

He asked several people around him, and those who weren't too euphoric to answer confirmed his suspicion.

Where the hell had he gone? The party was at least half for him! He didn't seem to be the one to turn down compliments and honours.

Arthur hasn't been able to enjoy the party as well as he'd liked, but he had good reasons. Merlin didn't have any that Arthur could imagine, but that didn't stop him from worrying.

 

Discretely, he walked away from the crowd of dancing, singing people and left the beach.

 

Several minutes later, he found Merlin in the clearing they had been at the night before.

Merlin was sitting cross-legged, staring at the waterfall. He didn't seem to notice Arthur until he was standing right next to him.

“Oh, hi,” he said softly

. “You're not at the party?” Arthur asked.

Merlin looked at Arthur, blinking as if he had just woken up from a very deep sleep.

“Yes?” he answered, raising an eyebrow.

Arthur had to resist the urge to hit him on the head to hide his own embarrassment. _Yes Arthur_ , he thought, _of course, if he's here, he's not at the party!_

Instead, he simply said, “Why? It's for you! The pirates left, thanks to you!”

Merlin sighed.

“I'm not really in the mood for partying... And anyway, it isn't only thanks to me! I would never take all the credit for that!”

 

Realizing that Merlin wasn't going to come to the party after all and that this conversation was going to be longer than expected, Arthur sat down. He wasn't going to admit it, but he was glad that they weren't going back to the party. All that movement and noise and happiness was a bit too much when he still felt so anxious. It was for completely different reasons than before; he didn't have to worry about Morgause and Morgana now. But Merlin's reassuring presence next to him was a whole new and somewhat more complicated problem.

Arthur let his feet dangle in the water. It was warm, and suddenly his mind was full of memories of the previous night. and he couldn't help but blush. Thankfully, it was dark and Merlin wasn't looking at him.

“We couldn't have done it without you, you know.” Merlin blurted out.

“What?”

“If you hadn't been there to push us to act, we wouldn't have done it. I haven't said it yet, so, thank you, Arthur. We- I couldn't have done it without you.”

Merlin turned his head to look at Arthur and smiled brightly. Arthur's heart skipped a beat. He was so fucked.

“I'm just glad I could help.” He muttered before looking away.

After that, they were quiet for a while. Both of them had their feet in the water, moving them slowly, and their hands were only a few centimetres away from the other's.

They didn't dare to look at each other, and the tension was palpable in the air.

 

Arthur didn't want to be the one to break the silence, mostly because he had no idea what to say. He felt so many things at once, and he didn't know if the tears in his eyes were of pain or happiness.

Thankfully, Merlin spoke first. What he said, however, made Arthur's heart sink.

“You are going to leave soon, aren't you?”

“Yes,” Arthur said softly. “With Morgana. As soon as we can. She can't stay here.”

Merlin nodded.

“Leon will want to come with her,” he said. It sounded definite, and after seeing how Leon and Morgana acted together, Arthur didn't question it.

“So he will.”

There was another silence, each second resonating loudly in Arthur's head.

 

“Merlin, I'm...”

“It's fine, Arthur!” Merlin cut him off. “I knew you'd leave, we discussed it even before you arrived. I guess I was... I just....” Merlin's voice broke and Arthur could see the tears filling his eyes.

Without hesitation, Arthur turned toward him and grabbed his hands in his.

“Listen, Merlin, come with me.”

“What?”

“Come back to the real world with me. We don't have to become sad, broken adults. If we're together, we won't. And I don't want to never see you again. I couldn't...” But he wasn't able to finish this sentence, because saying it out loud only made the pain more real.

He had to leave; his whole life was out there. Morgana needed to leave, and his father was waiting for them, and he had his friends, and fencing practise, and school, and he couldn't just abandon all that. Not even for Merlin. Not even if at that moment, it was the only thing that he wanted to do.

“I can't, Arthur, I can't leave here, it's my home! It's all I know!” Merlin was sobbing now. Arthur tightened his hold on Merlin's hand and moved his body closer to Merlin's.

“God, I know, I'm sorry,” Arthur whispered. “I'm being selfish, I'm sorry.”

“I can't ask you to stay,” Merlin said between sobs.

“And I can't ask you to leave.”

 

They were so close now, they hadn't even realized that they'd moved. Hesitantly, Arthur brushed a tear off Merlin's cheek. Merlin smiled softly at that and closed his eyes. Arthur leaned in, resting his forehead against Merlin's, closing his own eyes as well.

They stayed that way for god-knows-how-long, forehead against forehead and hands in hands, tears slowly drying. (Arthur wouldn't be able to see Merlin's smile if his eyes are closed.)

This time, it's Arthur who took the decision to act before the moment was broken.

  
Suddenly, he brushed his lips against Merlin's.

 

Merlin didn't move away. Instead, he opened his mouth slightly and let out a soft gasp. Arthur himself was half surprised of his own action, but the shock only lasted a moment before he grabbed Merlin by the shoulders and brought him closer, this time crashing their lips together. Merlin put his hands on Arthur's waist and kissed him back, making Arthur's heart race and his whole body shiver with pleasure.

 

It wasn't a child kiss, that was certain.

 

Merlin was clinging to Arthur like he might disappear at any moment and Arthur was holding onto Merlin like he was the most precious thing in the world. Their lips kept crashing together, all wet and swollen. The kiss was frantic, rushed, tongue and biting and touching, tasting. They knew they didn't have time, that it would end before they'd realized it had even started and that they weren't kissing as if it was the only and last time they could.

 

 

But it was the last time and the mere idea of it hurt so much. At that moment, all Arthur wanted to think about was Merlin's lips on his, the fact that they were both there, and that it was the only thing that counted.

They put everything they couldn't say into the kiss, all the '' and the 'thank yous' , all the 'I love yous' .

That's what it was in the end, love, at least the beginning of it. But Arthur knew they'd be lying if they said they hadn't known and cared for each other for a lot longer than three days, and right now, kissing, was the most natural thing ever. This was how they should always be, and the knowledge that it couldn't, hurt. Somehow they both ended up crying, salted tears on their lips. Arthur's hands were cupping Merlin's face, caressing his skin softly.

 

“Merlin, Merlin, Merlin...,” he whispered against Merlin's mouth like it was the only word he knew. It was definitely the only word he cared about.

Merlin laced his arms around Arthur's waist and held him tightly. When the kiss broke, they found themselves breathless. It took a while for Arthur's heart to calm and for either of them to speak coherently again.

“I have no idea how I can love a prat like you,” Merlin said in a smile.

“But you do love me?” Arthur said, sounding more hesitant that he wished.

Merlin took a deep breath before answering.

“Yes,” he whispered.

Arthur kissed him again, softer, more tenderly this time.

 

They were smiling when they broke the kiss, and it was arm in arm, Merlin's head in Arthur's shoulder and Arthur's face pressed into Merlin's hair, that they lay on the ground and fell asleep under the moonlight.

 

* * *

 

Merlin wasn't there when they left the next day.

 

As expected, Leon came with them. The whole village came to bid their goodbyes, and the fairies, and even the mermaids came and sang for them. No one spoke to Morgana except Gwen, who even hugged her. She smiled as she told Morgana that she forgave her and that she had to take care of herself now. Arthur saw Morgana trying not cry and decided that it was time to go.

Everyone seemed to feel sorry for him that Merlin wasn't there. Arthur understood that he had said goodbye to Leon and Morgana earlier when they were alone.

No one knew of the kiss, so it was understandable that they were disconcerted by Arthur's lack of reaction. Arthur wasn't stupid and he knew that seeing Merlin now would be the biggest mistake he could make. It would be too painful for both of them. And if Arthur didn't look for him, it was because the pain was so raw, so unbearable that he simply didn't know how to express it.

 

“Kilgharrah.” The fairy immediately appeared at Arthur's side. “Let's go.”

They waved one last time before they were covered in fairy powder and flew away from Neverland, knowing that there would be no coming back.

 

It was dark and raining in London when they arrived, nothing surprising. Uther almost fainted when he saw Morgana, but he managed to stay strong like the Pendragon he was. The joy of having his daughter back didn't ease his anger against Arthur, however.

“Disappearing for an entire week! Without a word, in the middle of night! I knew you could be foolish but this!”

It took Morgana's intervention to calm Uther, and the promise that if they could have acted any differently, they would have.

It was still a shock Uther that allowed them to go to sleep that night without too many questions.

Morgana took her old bedroom. There was no reason for her to share a room with Arthur and she needed her space.

Leon was given one of the many guest rooms. It was Arthur who guided him there, Uther having barely noticed him, too concentrated on his children. Leon hasn't been in the 'real' world in a while and many things seemed to confuse him, but the way he clung to Morgana, there was no doubt that he didn't regret his choice.

Arthur had a hard time falling asleep, in his cold, empty bed in a room that seemed foreign. When he finally managed to drift into sleep, it was a dreamless one, which he was immensely thankful for.

 

* * *

 

They never talked about Neverland. Actually, they never talked at all. Not that Arthur hadn't tried, but Morgana, even weeks after leaving, was still feeling guilty about what she'd done, and after a few days, Arthur accepted that it would take a long time, months, maybe even years for his sister to open up again.

But he could see a change already. She talked with Leon a lot, and sometimes she even smiled. Seeing the two of them together comforted Arthur deeply.

Leon was given a job as the gardener's apprentice and a room in the Pendragon's mansion – in the employees' quarters, of course – as a thank you for taking care of Morgana all the years she was away. They didn't even think to tell Uther the truth about Neverland He would never believe them and he'd immediately send them to a doctor.

Instead, Morgana just said that she wasn't ready to talk about it yet, thus giving them time to find an acceptable story to tell the adults; Uther was so happy to have her back that he didn't ask many question and was more than pleased to simply enjoy her presence.

 

When Arthur spent time with Leon, he carefully avoided mentioning Neverland. He liked the guy, he really did. Leon was nice, kind, wise and curious about everything. He was clever, too, and they always had great conversations., But Leon also came from Neverland and there would always be something about him that would be linked to that place, that would be linked to Merlin.

Arthur was constantly thinking about Merlin and the more he thought about it, the more he realized how much he loved him. Maybe he had always loved him.

Merlin had been his first friend, even if Arthur thought he was an imaginary one at first. He'd always been an important part of Arthur's life, even more now that he'd met him and fell in love with him for real.

 

God. Fell in love. Just thinking the words made Arthur's blush. But he couldn't deny it, and the fact that he was unlikely he would ever see Merlin again didn't stop his feelings from growing.

It came to a point when he almost told his father about it. Of course, the fact that he loved one boy didn't mean that he was only interested in boys, but he was definitely less attracted to the opposite gender. Uther kept asking what made Arthur so broody.

But before he said something, Arthur remembered the time when Uther punished him for missing a meeting with one of his clients' daughter when he was 13 and had lectured him about the importance of getting a girlfriend from an important family to ensure the Pendragon's company stability in the future. He remembered one time at an important gala, where Uther saw two men dancing together and had made Arthur leave the room.

Arthur gratified himself on not being a coward, and even if he wasn't able to forget Merlin and have a relationship with a man, even if he spent his life alone and could easily hide the truth from his father, he would tell him one day.

If everything went too wrong, the shadow of Neverland was never far.

 

Two months after they returned from Neverland, life was better, but there was still the shadow creeping in a corner of Arthur's mind that wouldn't leave.

Arthur had learnt to live with the memory of Merlin, of the kiss they exchanged, and now it was only a dull pain in the back of his head. He accepted that it would always be there, always like that,

Life was boring, but it was fine. School, lunch with Morgana and Leon, fencing practice, dinner with Uther, sometimes a gala or a party, or a meeting with Uther's clients to teach him the ropes of the job.

Always the same routine, everyday. _It's fine. I'm doing fine._ Arthur constantly reminded himself.

But then something happened to change all that.

 

\-----------------------------------

 

Arthur was alone in the Pendragon's mansion, which wasn't unusual, but the fact that it's been raining for days limited the things he could. He was bored to death.

After dismissing the cooks and maids, Arthur decided that sitting in the living room near the fireplace with a good book was the only thing to do when there was a storm outside.

It was quiet except for the sounds of fire crackling, the wind and the rain on the windows and the soft sound of pages being turned.

Arthur was starting to get comfortable when a loud _thump_ made him jump on his chair. He tried to ignore it at first. After all, he was alone and even if he was a talented fighter, he didn't want to face a potentially dangerous intruder alone.

But the sound continued, louder and quicker, and after a moment, Arthur sighed, stood up and walked to the door.

 

He didn't know what he expected to find when he opened it, but it certainly wasn't wet, shaking Merlin who smiled when he said in his sweet, loving voice, “Hi Arthur.”.Mer-me-mer-Merlin!” Arthur stammered.

“That's me.” Merlin laughed.

“What- what the hell on earth are you doing here?”

Merlin raised an eyebrow.

“I wanted to see you.” He said as if it was obvious.

“But... You're not floating or...”

“I know.”

“What does that mean?” Arthur asked.

“Arthur, I'm wet and cold, could you please let me in, and we can talk later?” Merlin said, a little exasperated but still smiling.

“Oh, of course!” Arthur opened the door wider and let Merlin inside.

 

They both stayed silent until Merlin was sitting in front of the fireplace with a blanket on his shoulder and a cup of tea in his hands.

“Are you real?” Arthur asked. He couldn't believe Merlin was really here. He'd dreamt of it too many times. Merlin laughed, but it wasn't mean.

“Yes,” he said.

“Why aren't you flying? Why didn't you come here like the first time, by my window?”

Seeing Merlin on the ground like that was unusual, almost unnatural.

Merlin took a minute to think about his answer.

“Because I'm here for real.”

“What?”

“I'm here to stay.”

Arthur held his breath, processing what Merlin just said.

“What does that mean?”

“It means what it means, Arthur. I left Neverland. I'm here.”

Arthur's eyes widened.

“But... Why?” He was too surprised to feel anything elseyet. He already had a hard time believing Merlin was there; so believing that he wasn't going to leave seemed impossible.

“Because, Arthur,” Merlin said, clearly exasperated, “I knew that if I came to see you, I wouldn't be able to leave you even if that had been my first intention. We both knew that for me coming here or you coming back to Neverland, it would be final.”

Arthur nodded.

“So... you left Neverland?”

“Yes.” And he added, as if he'd read Arthur's mind, “I'm here. I'm staying, I won't leave you.”

 

Arthur started to grin as he accepted what was happening, and before Merlin could speak again, Arthur jumped on him, put his hands on his cheeks and crushed his lips against Merlin's, pouring all the love and happiness that he couldn't express into the kiss.

 

“I don't have anything here. I don't know anything,” Merlin whispered when they broke the kiss.

“Just my name. And you.”

Arthur smiled.

“We'll start from here. We can search for your family. You can go to school, or find a job. There's so many possibilities Merlin. So many things to do. Together.”

Merlin gave him a light kiss on the lips and smiled brightly.

“Together.”


	13. Epilogue.

 Arthur was waiting in front of the school for Merlin to finish his last class. As usual, he was the last person to leave the building, but it was a warm spring day and Arthur didn't mind waiting. He was sitting on a bench, quietly reading a book when Merlin appeared in front of him.

“You didn't wait too long?” he asked. Arthur shook his head.

“So,” he said as he put his book in his bag and stood up. “How was your first day in your new school, Professor Emrys?”

Merlin laughed softly.

“I managed not to break anything, if that's what you were asking about.”

“Of course.” Arthur said. “How are the kids?”

“Great! They're all so curious and eager to learn! They're enthusiastic about everything!”

“Like you,” Arthur whispered in Merlin's ear. Merlin blushed.

“And you!” Merlin said, pushing Arthur away in a laugh.

“What are you talking about? I'm the very serious head of Pendragon Corp now. I have no time for enthusiasm,” he said in a failed imitation of his father. Merlin burst out laughing, and Arthur tried to contain a smile.

“Sure! So, anything planned for us? I have to celebrate the fact that I didn't die on my first day?”

 

They were walking slowly on the pavement under the shadow of huge trees, the light colored by their bright leaves. The streets were quiet in the afternoon; the singing of birds was clearly audible, and the air was filled with the scent of blossoming flowers.

“Dinner?” Arthur said.

“Not in a posh place like the one you took me to last time! The look the waiter gave me when I used the wrong fork... I still have nightmares about that!”

“You do not!” Arthur smiled. The memory of that day still made him laugh. Merlin had been ridiculous and they've driven the waiter mad. It had been epic. “Anyway, I cooked something myself so...”

“Home?”

“Home it is.”

Arthur took Merlin's hand in his and held it tightly all the way home.

 

They had bought a house as soon as Arthur had gotten a job at his father's – now his, it was hard to remember sometimes – company. It was close to the Pendragon Mansion where Uther still lived, but a lot smaller, and in Arthur's opinion, more comfortable. It was warm and felt like home and that was everything they needed.

They didn't have any servants except for an old lady who came twice a week to do the laundry and the cleaning. She used to work at the mansion, but now she was too old for such a big house, and she seemed so sad about leaving the Pendragon's service – she worked for them all her life apparently – that Arthur gave her this job.

It wasn't like they couldn't afford it. Now that Uther had retired and Merlin got a stable job teaching young children in a neighbourhood school, they had plenty to spare.

 

Getting there hadn't been easy.

After arriving from Neverland, Merlin took only two weeks to adapt to the life in this world before starting school while taking a job as a delivery boy to pay his rents to Uther.

Arthur had moved closer to his school and it seemed like the most natural thing to share it with Merlin, but stubborn as he was, Merlin insisted to pay for it.

It took a long time for Merlin and Morgana to be comfortable around each other, but they managed to forgive each other and as soon as that was done, their friendship grew quickly.

Leon and Morgana became engaged only a year after coming back. Around the same time, Gwaine and Percival arrived from Neverland. It has been quite a shock for everyone since they hadn't been expected at all, but they explained that it was a well-thought decision, that they wanted to discover new worlds, and that starting with visiting their friends seemed like the best idea. They told them about Gwen and Lancelot's engagement and everyone toasted the news about their friends.

Arthur didn't tell them about Merlin and him immediately. In facit, no one knew for years until he told Morgana once he got out of uni. Uther, surprisingly, accepted the idea easily.

Arthur guessed it was years of seeing him and Merlin, of noticing how close they were, how much they cared, needed, loved each other. Uther stopped presenting girls to Arthur ages ago, before Arthur even told him!

The man had softened since Arthur and Morgana came back, finally realizing the importance of his children's happiness. That didn't mean that they were very close. Their opinions still differed on many subjects, and the less they saw each other, the better off they were. It made the rare times they met more agreeable and precious.

 

Arthur's work took a lot of time, but he always managed to come home early to have dinner with Merlin. Merlin himself was quite busy with his classes.

But somehow, they always found time to do other things. Sometimes, they would simply read books in front of the fireplace, curled up under a blanket with warm cups of tea and biscuits next to them. Other times, they cooked the most extraordinary cakes while Merlin sang children's rhymes he taught at school. Or when they were tired of the city, they took a car and disappeared in the forest for a few days, or to the sea. More often than not, they met their friends in the city, where they talked endlessly about all kinds of things.

Morgana worked at Pendragon Corp, and Leon was now a famous gardener. It was unclear what Gwaine and Percival were doing, but they looked happy.

 

They enjoyed going out, just the two of them, too. They particularly liked going to the poshest restaurants and making fun of the waiters, but Merlin's favourite thing was going to the lowest part of city and play with the street kids.

They'd learn rather early on that it was where Merlin was from. His mother had lived here before dying of sickness and Merlin disappeared as soon as she was gone. They didn't know how many years ago it had been, but the only person who remembered Merlin's mum – Hunith was her name – was a very old lady. But it wasn't important. Merlin was happy knowing where he was from and that his mother hadn't abandoned him voluntarily, and Arthur was happy to see Merlin happy.

Their relationship was as simple as that. Their own happiness nourished the other's. They didn't want much more than each other, and sometimes spending the day in their house without seeing anyone else was enough.

Actually, spending the day alone in their house was one of their favourite things, especially when it involved spending the biggest part of the day in bed, sleeping. Or more often than not, not sleeping at all.

 

The celebration, that night, didn't include sleep, but it did include a bed.

 

After a quiet dinner that ended with apple pie, Merlin's favourite dessert, they settled in the living room. Arthur was lying on the sofa and Merlin was lying on Arthur, his head resting on Arthur's chest. They stayed silent for a while like they often did, simply savouring the other's presence, eyes closed but not sleeping.

 

Merlin said, “I'm glad I'm here. I wouldn't ask for anything else.”

 

It was something Merlin repeated quite often. Arthur worried sometimes that maybe Merlin regretted his decision of leaving Neverland. The first years, it had been the main cause of their fights – because they did fight, rarely, but it still happened – and Merlin made sure to repeat these word often enough. It was the truth and he wished Arthur would stop doubting him.

 

That night, for the first time, Arthur replied, “I know.”

 

Merlin's eyes widened. But instead of answering, he moved so that his head was above Arthur's and his hands were firmly on the sofa, on each side of Arthur, holding him up. He smiled and kissed Arthur.

 

They kissed slowly, enjoying the contact. Merlin bit Arthur's lower lips playfully. Arthur gasped and laced his arms around Merlin's chest. After that, the kiss became wetter, more rushed, all tongue and teeth, licking and biting and tasting each other like it was the first time, or the last, like it could end at any moment.

They stopped only to take their shirts off. Merlin whined at the sudden separation but he smiled when he found himself facing Arthur's naked chest. He put his lips on Arthur's collarbone, kissing it softly, moving slowly to his neck. Arthur arched under his touch.

“Mer-lin,” he gasped. “Bed.”

Merlin whined again at the idea of having to stop to go to their room, but the sofa was small and a bit uncomfortable. Unwillingly, he moved away from Arthur, but not before putting his hands in Arthur's.

“Fine.” He pouted. Arthur let out a small laugh.

“Come on,” Arthur said, voice hoarse. As they moved, Arthur could feel Merlin's boner against his thigh. He was fully hard and wanted nothing more than to be in bed.

 

As expected, the walk to their room took twice as long as it normally would. It was constantly interrupted with kisses, and more clothes were taken off and thrown on the stairs and in hallways. When they finally made it to bed, they were only wearing underwear.

Merlin pushed Arthur onto the bed. Arthur fell flat on his back and Merlin immediately climbed on him and sat on his legs and put one hand on Arthur's hard-on.

“Is this some kind of celebratory sex?” He asked while pressing his hand on Arthur's cock. Arthur arched his hips to lean into Merlin's touch.

“M-maybe,” he gasped.

“Doest that mean I decide what we do?” Merlin asked teasingly.

“Yeah...,” Arthur said in a breath.

“Good,” Merlin whispered as he slid Arthur's pants off, revealed his very naked, very hard cock. He immediately took it in his hand and started jerking it off. With he other hand, he pushed away his own underwear to free his cock and grabbed it firmly.

 

Arthur was moaning now, and Merlin's breath was faster, heavier.

“F-fuck, Merlin!” Arthur said between his teeth, trying to keeps more moans from getting out.

“Don't do that,” Merlin whispered. “I like the sounds you make when I touch you.”

Those words made Arthur moan even louder and rock his hips to lean in Merlin's touch. Merlin was over Arthur now, kissing his neck, licking his collarbone, his shoulder, slowly descending on his chest, biting his nipple. Arthur let out a small cry of pleasure when Merlin did that.

Arthur put his arms around Merlin's chest and was holding him tight, his fingers digging in Merlin's back, bringing him closer.

 

“Arthur?” Merlin asked. It was enough for Arthur to understand what he meant, and he immediately let go of Merlin so he could move and get his mouth right above Arthur's cock.

Slowly, Merlin licked Arthur's skin before he arrived at the base of Arthur's cock. He paused, looking at Arthur who nodded, before putting his lips on the head of Arthur's cock.

Merlin took his time, teasing, licking slowly from head to base and again, savouring the hushed moans Arthur made and the tight grip of Arthur's hands on his shoulders.

With his free hand, Merlin started preparing Arthur's asshole, teasing with his fingers, but he had to move away to get a bottle of oil and a condom in their nightstand.

Arthur winced at the sudden lack of Merlin against him.

 

“ _Mer_ lin!” he called, voice rough and breath jerky.

“I'm right here.” Merlin says softly right in Arthur's ear. He quickly put the condom on his cock, then poured oil on his hand and looked at Arthur, lying on his back right under Merlin, before he started fingering him, teasing him.

“Merlin, come on...,” Arthur said. “Come on!”

“We're not in a hurry, aren't we?” Merlin teased.

Arthur laced his arms around Merlin's chest, bringing Merlin against him.

“Come on Merlin, I'm ready!”

“Bossy, as usual.” Merlin laughed.

Merlin had three fingers inside Arthur now, and Arthur was more than ready. When Arthur dug his nails in the skin of his back and Merlin let out a loud moan, it was a signal to stop the teasing.

He moved a bit over Arthur to be in a better position. Arthur entwined his legs around Merlin's hips, and slowly, carefully, Merlin started thrusting his cock inside Arthur.

They kissed passionately while moving their hips, at first slowly, then in a constant rhythm, and it's mouth against mouth , holding onto each other until, several minutes later, they came at the same time.

 

They lay there for a while, their heartbeats and breathing calming slowly, holding each other firmly.

Finally, Merlin moved away, taking off the condom and throwing it into the bin near their nightstand, then he took a tissue to clean Arthur's come-covered stomach.

When he was done, Arthur grabbed his arm and made him lie next to him, brought the sheet over them both, giving Merlin a light kiss, and closed his eyes. Merlin took Arthur's hand in his and entwined their fingers.

“I love you,” Arthur said. Such simple, common words, and yet, saying them made his heart skip a beat each time.

“I love you too.” Merlin whispered before drifting into sleep. Arthur smiled, tightened his grip on Merlin's hand and let sleep take him.

 

* * *

 

 

It was still strange for Merlin to think that this was his life. That he'd let himself grow up.

Arthur had been right, all those years ago in Neverland. Together, they had become adults, but they hadn't lost their spark, what made them curious, enthusiastic, sometimes naïve, even childish, but most importantly, free. Sure, they had responsibilities, and everything wasn't perfect, but after all, even Neverland hadn't been perfect.

He missed Neverland sometimes, he missed his friends, and mostly, he missed flying. He knew Arthur missed Neverland in his own way, too. But none of them would ever regret making the choice that brought them there, and they were certain they would never forget Neverland. It was the place where they truly met, where their hearts collided and they fell in love.

 

And if sometimes it seemed far, far away, more like a dream than a memory, and they're afraid of forgetting, a soft tinkling sound and a sparkling track in the air will always be there to make sure they don't.

 

The end.  

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it!  
> It has been written and edited in a bit of a rush, so if you see any mistakes in the grammar, spelling, beta notes I forgotten to take out, stuff that doesn't make sense, etc, don't hesitate to tell me! (Hopefully I'll be able to re-edit this more precisely soon.)


End file.
